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'Kuth  sprang  forward  and  seized  the  old  gentleman's  coat" 

{See  Page  25) 


THE 

CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS 

GROWING  UP 

WHAT  HAPPENED  FIRST 

WHAT  CAME  NEXT 

AND  HOW  IT  ENDED 


BY 
GRACE  BROOKS  HILL 

AuTBOii  OF  "The  Corner  House  Girls,"  "The 
Corner  Housk  Girls  Under  Canvas,"  ktc. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 
R.  EMMETT  OWEN 


BARSE   &   HOPKINS 

PUBLISHERS 
NEWARK,  N.  J.  NEW  YORK.  N.  Y. 


BOOKS   FOR   GIRLS 

By  Grace  Brooks  Hill 


THe  Comer  House  Girls  Series 

12mo.     Cloth.    Illustrated. 

THE  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS 
THE  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  AT  SCHOOL 
THE  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  LT^DER  CANVAS 
THE  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  IN  A  PLAY 
THE  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS'  ODD  FIND 
THE  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  ON  A  TOUR 
THE  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  GROWING  UP 

BARSE  &  HOPKINS 

PtTBiisHEBs  New  Yobk 


Copyright,  1918, 

by 

Barse  k  Hopkins 


The  Comer  Sowe  Oirla  Growing  Up 


Prioted  la  U.  S.  A. 


I  • 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTEa  PAOB 

I.    All  Up  in  the  Am 9 

II.  The  Old  Gentleman  with  the  Green 

Umbrella 19 

III.  The  Aerial  Tramway 29 

IV.  School  in  the  Offing 42 

V.    The  Shepards 49 

VI.    Naming  the  New  Baby 57 

VII.    A  Feline  Furor 65 

VIII.    Neighbor 75 

IX.  Everything  at  Sixes  and  at  Sevens  .     .     84 

X.  Aboard  the  Nancy  Hanks      ....     93 

XI.    Afloat  on  the  Canal 105 

XII.    Missing 114 

XIII.    The  Hue  and  Cry 122 

XrV.    An  Unexpected  Delight 130 

XV.    The  Pursuit 140 

XVI.    The  Ringmaster 152 

XVII.  Scalawag  Gets  a  New  Home  .     .     .     .161 

XV  111.    A  Long  Look  Ahead 173 

XIX.    School  Beings 182 


Contents 

CHAPTEK  PASE 

XX.    BE;A.RDiNa  the  Lion 191 

XXI.  Adventures  with  Scalawag   ....  199 

XXII.  The  Green  Umbrella  Again  ....  211 

XXIII.  The  ISIad  Dog  Scare 222 

XXIV.  It  Engages  Aunt  Sarah's  Attention     .  232 


XXV.    Looking  Ahead 


246 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


**Ruth  sprang  forward  and  seized  the  old 

gentleman's  coat"      .     .     .     ^.^     .      Frontispiece 

rAOINO 
PACUB 

"Neale  reached  up  with  a  rake  and  unhooked  the 
hanging  basket" 74 

"  *I  shaU  begin  to  believe  you  are  a  man-hater,* 
laughed  Luke" •     •     •  H^ 

"There  was  a  rush  for  the  open  hatchway  and  a 
chorus  of  excited  voices" 164 


THE  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS 
GROWING  UP 


CHAPTER  I 

ALL  UP   IN   THE   AIB 

It  all  began  because  Tess  Kenway  became 
suddenly  and  deeply  interested  in  aeroplanes,  air- 
ships and  "all  sort  of  flying  things,'*  as  Dot,  the 
smallest  Comer  House  girl,  declared. 

Perhaps  one  should  modify  that  ** suddenly '*; 
for  Tess  had  begun  to  think  about  flying — as  a 
profession — as  long  ago  as  the  winter  before  (and 
that  was  really  a  long  time  for  a  little  girl  of  her 
age)  when  she  had  acted  as  Swiftwing  the  Hum- 
mingbird in  the  children's  play  of  The  Carnation 
Countess. 

At  any  rate  she  said  to  Sammy  Pinkney,  who 
was  almost  their  next  door  neighbor,  only  he  lived 
"scatecomered"  across  Willow  Street,  that  she 
wished  she  had  an  airship. 

And  there!  **Scatecomered**  must  be  ex- 
plained too;  it  was  an  expression  of  Uncle  Rufus* 
who  was  the  Corner  House  girls'  chief  factotum 
and  almost  an  heirloom  in  the  family,  for  he  had 
long  served  Uncle  Peter  Stower,  who  in  dying  had 

9 


10    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

willed  the  beautiful  old  homestead  in  Milton  to  his 
four  grand-nieces. 

**Just  what  does  'scatecomered'  mean,  Uncle 
Bufus?'*  asked  Dot,  who  delighted  in  poly- 
syllables. 

**Why,  chile,  *scatecomered*  am  a  pufficly  good 
word,  f o  *  I  has  used  it  all  ma  life.  It 's — er — ^well, 
it's  sort  of  a  short-cut  for  de  meanin'  of  slant- 
indicular  an  crisscrosswise ;  w'ich  means  dat  it 
ain't  straight  an'  ain't  crooked,  but  sort  o' — er — 
scatecornered.    Dere,  chile,  now  you  knows.'* 

**Yes,  Uncle  Rufus;  thank  you,"  said  Dot, 
polite  if  she  did  feel  rather  dizzy  after  his  expla- 
nation. 

But  it  was  with  Tess,  who  was  nearly  two  years 
older  than  Dot  and  thought  herself  vastly  more 
grown  up,  and  with  Sammy  Pinkney  this  story 
was  begun,  and  one  should  stick  to  one's  text. 

**Yes,"  murmured  Tess,  *'I  wish  I  had  an  air- 
ship." 

Sammy  looked  at  her,  rather  awed.  Lately  he 
was  beginning  to  feel  a  mite  awed  in  Tess  Ken- 
way's  company,  anyway.  She  had  always  been 
a  thoughtful  child.  Aunt  Sarah  Maltby  declared 
she  was  uncanny  and  gave  her  the  fidgets.  Of 
late  even  the  boy  who  desired  to  be  a  pirate  found 
Tess  puzzling. 

"Huh I  An  airship T  What  would  you  do  with 
it!  Where  would  you  keep  it?"  he  finally  de- 
manded, his  queries  being  nothing  if  not  practical. 

Really  Tess  had  not  addressed  him  directly. 


All  Up  in  the  Air  11 

She  had  just  audibly  expressed  a  thought,  and 
one  that  had  long  been  in  her  mind  in  embryo. 
So  she  did  not  answer  the  neighbor  boy,  who  was 
sitting  beside  her  on  the  side  stoop  of  the  Corner 
House,  rigging  a  self -whittled  ship  to  sail  in  the 
horse-trough. 

**You  know  very  well  it  wouldn't  go  in  the 
garage ;  and  the  toolshed  and  the  henhouse — even 
Tom  Jonah's  house — are  all  too  small.  Huhl 
that's  like  a  girl!  Never  look  ahead  to  see  what 
they'd  do  with  an  airship  if  somebody  gave  'em 
one." 

**Well,  I  don't  s'pose  anybody  will,"  admitted 
Tess,  with  a  sigh,  having  heard  at  least  the  last 
part  of  Sammy's  speech. 

**  Anybody  will  whatf*  demanded  Sammy, 
beginning  to  be  somewhat  confused,  partly  from 
not  knowing  what  he  himself  had  been  saying. 

**Give  us  an  airship." 

"I  should  say  not  I"  ejaculated  Sammy. 
**Why,  Tess  Kenway,  an  airship  would  cost  'most 
a  million  dollars!" 

**Is  that  so?"  she  said,  accepting  Sammy's 
slight  overestimate  of  the  price  of  a  flying 
machine  quite  placidly. 

**And  folks  don't  give  away  such  presents.  I 
should  say  not!"  with  scorn. 

"Why,  Neale  0 'Neil's  Uncle  Bill  Sorber  wants 
to  give  Dot  and  me  a  calico  pony,  and  that  must 
be  worth  a  lot  of  money." 

**HuhI    What's  a  calico  pony!    Like  one  of 


12    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

these  Teddy  bears?"  sniffed  Sammy.  "Stuffed 
with  cotton  r* 

*'No  it  isn't,  Mr.  Saucebox!"  broke  in  Agnes 
Kenway,  the  second  and  prettiest  of  the  Corner 
House  girls,  who  had  just  come  out  on  the  porch  to 
brush  her  sport  coat  and  had  overheard  the  boy's 
observation.  "That  calico  pony  is  well  stuffed 
with  good  oats  and  hay  if  it  belongs  to  Twomley 
&  Sorber's  Herculean  Circus  and  Menagerie. 
Neale's  Uncle  Bill  feeds  his  horses  till  they  are  as 
fat  as  butter." 

"Oh!"  murmured  Sammy.  "A  real  pony?" 
and  his  eyes  began  to  shine.  He  had  owned  a 
goat  (it  was  now  Tess'  property)  and  he  now 
possessed  a  bulldog.  But  he  foresaw  "larks"  if 
the  two  smaller  Comer  House  girls  got  a  pony. 
The  older  ones  often  went  out  in  the  motor-car 
without  Tess  and  Dot,  and  the  suggestion  of  the 
pony  may  have  been  a  roundabout  way  of  appeas- 
ing the  youngsters. 

"But  say!"  the  boy  added,  "why  did  you  call 
it  calico!  That's  what  they  make  kids'  dresses 
out  of,  isn't  it?" 

"Mine's  gingham  and  I'm  not  a  kid,"  declared 
Tess  both  promptly  and  with  warmth. 

"Aw,  well,  I  didn't  mean  you,"  explained 
Sammy.    *  *  And  why  do  they  call  a  pony  *  calico '  ?  " 

This  was  too  much  for  Tess  and  she  put  it  up 
to  Agnes. 

"Why — ^now,"  began  the  older  sister,  "you— 
you  know  what  a  calico  cat  is,  Sammy  Pinkney?" 


AU  Up  in  the  Air  13 

**Ye-es,'*  Sammy  said  it  rather  doubtfully,  how- 
ever. "That's  like  Miss  Pettingill's  got  down  the 
street,  ain't  it?" 

* '  0-0 1 "  cried  Teas.  ''  That 's  all  colors,  that  old 
cat  is!*' 

"It's  sort  of  mottled  and  patchy.  That's  it — 
patchy!"  declared  Agnes,  seizing  the  suggestion 
of  "calico"  and  "patchwork"  to  make  out  her 
case. 

"But,"  complained  Tess,"  I  didn't  think  the 
pony  would  be  as  many  colors  as  Miss  Pettingill's 
cat.    You  know  she  calls  him  Eainbow." 

"Why,  the  pony  is  only  brown  and  white — or 
cream  color,"  Agnes  said  with  more  confidence. 
"And  maybe  a  little  pink." 

"Ho!  ho!"  snorted  Sammy.  "Now  you  are 
stringin'  us.    Who  ever  heard  of  a  pink  horse?" 

Agnes  went  in  without  hearing  this  remark, 
and  perhaps  it  was  as  well  for  Sammy  Pinkney. 
Tess  said  severely: 

"Our  Agnes  does  not  string  people,  Sammy. 
If  she  says  the  pony  is  pink,  it  is  pink,  you  may 
be  certain  sure." 

"And  chocolate  and  cream  color,  too?"  sniffed 
the  boy.  "Hum!  I  guess  a  pony  as  funny  as 
that  would  be,  could  fly  too.  So  you'll  be  fi:xed 
up  all  right,  Tess  Kenway." 

"Dear  me,"  sighed  the  little  girl,  coming  back 
to  their  original  topic  of  conversation.  "I  wish 
we  did  have  something  that  would  fly." 

Now,  secretly,  Sammy  was  very  fond  of  Tess. 


14    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

When  he  had  had  the  scarlet  fever  that  spring  and 
early  summer,  his  Httle  neighbor  with  the  serious 
face  and  dreamy  look  had  been  the  most  attentive 
friend  one  could  ever  expect  to  have. 

She  had  called  morning  and  night  at  his  house 
to  get  the  ** bulletin*'  of  his  condition;  and  when 
he  was  up  again  and  the  house  was  what  Dot  Ken- 
way  had  mentioned  as  * '  f umigrated, "  Tess  had 
spent  long  hours  amusing  the  boy  until  he  could 
play  out  of  doors  again. 

Besides,  she  had  much  to  do  with  his  accom- 
panying the  Corner  House  girls  on  their  recent 
motoring  trip,  and  Sammy's  own  mother  said  that 
that  vacation  journey  had  **made  a  new  boy  of 
Sammy. ' ' 

This  new  boy,  therefore,  did  not  scorn  to  put  his 
mind  to  the  problem  of  Tess  Kenway's  distress. 
But  an  airship ! 

**I  say,  Tess,"  he  said  at  last  with  some  eager- 
ness, **how'd  one  of  them  airmajigs  be  that  father 
brought  me  home  from  the  city  once — only  a 
bigger  one?" 

**What  is  an  airmajig?"  demanded  Tess,  her 
curiosity  aroused  if  nothing  more. 

"Well,  it's  a  dinky  thing — pshaw!  you  re- 
member. You  stretched  a  wire,  and  then  wound 
it  up—" 

** Wound  up  the  wire?" 

**Naw!  Oh,  jingo!  The  ship,  I  mean.  It  was 
run  by  a  clock.  And  you  hung  it  on  the  wire  when 
it  was  wound." 


All  Up  in  the  Air  15 

**The  clock?"  asked  Tess,  still  absent-mindedly. 

**OhI  Je-Tu-sa-lem!  Girls  don't  know  nothin* 
about  mechanics,"  snarled  Sammy.  "What's  the 
use!" 

Tess  asked  in  an  apologetic  voice,  after  a 
moment  of  silence: 

**What  happened,  Sammy?" 

**What  happened  to  wkatf* 

**The  airmajig?" 

"Why,  it  traveled  right  along  the  wire — ^hang- 
ing to  it,  you  know, ' '  explained  the  little  boy  with 
more  enthusiasm.  "It  would  go  as  far  as  the 
wire  was  long.  Why,  I  bet,  Tess  Kenway,  that  it 
would  run  from  your  house  to  mine.  And  it 
wiggled  its  wings  just  like  a  bird.  And  there  was 
a  tin  man  in  it.  But  pshaw!  that  was  just  for 
kids.    It  was  a  toy.    But  a  bigger  one — " 

"Oh,  Sammy!  big  enough  to  carry  us?"  gasped 
Tess,  clasping  her  hands. 

"Er — well — now,"  hesitated  Sammy,  whose 
own  imagination  was  hampered  by  a  very  prac- 
tical streak  in  his  character.  "That  would  be 
some  airship,  wouldn't  it?  To  carry  us.  It 
would  have  to  be  pretty  big,  and  the  wire  'd  have 
to  be  awful  strong. ' ' 

"Oh,  it  wouldn't  be  flying,  then,"  sighed  Tess. 

"But  say!"  he  exclaimed  more  eagerly, 
"couldn't  we  fly  your  dolls  in  it — ^yours  and 
Dot's?" 

"Oh!" 

"That  would  be  great!" 


16    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

The  screen  door  slammed  behind  them.  **No," 
declared  a  serious  and  very  decisive  voice.  **You 
sha'n't  fly  my  Alice-doll  hke  a  kite,  Sammy  Piok- 
ney.    So  there!" 

They  turned  to  the  dark,  fairy-like  little  girl 
who  had  appeared  fresh  from  her  afternoon  toilet 
at  the  hands  of  Mrs.  MacCall,  the  old  Scotch 
housekeeper  who  loved  the  Corner  House  girls  as 
though  they  were  her  own. 

Dot,  as  usual,  clung  tightly  to  the  pink-faced, 
fair-haired  doll  which  of  all  her  '* children"  was 
her  favorite.  The  Alice-doll  had  been  through 
so  many  adventures,  and  suffered  such  peril  and 
disaster,  that  Dot  could  scarcely  bear  that  she 
should  be  out  of  her  sight  for  fear  some  new 
calamity  would  happen  to  her. 

Therefore  Dot  said  quite  firmly: 

**No,  Sammy  Pinkney.  You're  not  going  to 
fly  my  Alice-doll.  And  I  should  think  you'd  be 
'shamed,  Tessie  Kenway,  to  let  him  even  talk 
about  it." 

**Aw,  who's  goiu'  to  hurt  your  old  doll?" 
growled  Sammy. 

''She's  not  an  old  doll,  I'd  have  you  know, 
Sammy  Pinkney!"  responded  Dot,  ready  to  argue 
the  point  with  anybody.  ''She's  just  been  made 
over.  Didn't  Neale  O'Neil  have  her  taken  to  the 
hospital?  And  didn't  they  make  over  her  face 
just  like  society  ladies  get  theirs  done  by  a  der — 
der-ma-oly  wog  ? ' ' 


AU  Up  in  the  Air  17 

**  Mercy,  child!"  gasped  Tess.  **  *  Dermatolo- 
gist' the  word  is.    Kuth  told  us." 

^*And  they  bleached  her  hair,"  concluded  the 
excited  Dot.  **So  there!  Lots  of  ladies  have 
their  hair  bleached.    It's  quite  f ashioningble. " 

**Dot!  Dot!"  begged  the  purist,  Tess,  "do  get 
your  words  right  if  you  will  use  such  long  ones. ' ' 

Dot  haughtily  overlooked  any  such  interrup- 
tions. **So,"  said  she,  **you  sha'n't  make  a  kite 
out  of  my  Alice-doll,"  and  she  hugged  the  child 
to  her  bosom  with  emphasis. 

*'It  isn't  a  kite,"  explained  Tess,  indulgently. 
'  *  Sammy  was  talking  about  airships.  He  had  one 
that  had  a  clock  in  it  and  it  flew  on  a  wire — " 

**Oo-ee!"  squealed  Dot  suddenly.  **I  'member 
about  that,  Sammy  Pinkney.  And  your  mother 
said  you  shouldn't  ever  have  such  a  contraption 
in  the  house  again.    It  busted  the  parlor  lamp." 

**0h,  dear!  I  wish  you'd  say  *bursted,' " 
sighed  her  sister. 

"But  if  it  had  been  out  of  doors,"  Sammy 
grumbled,  "where  there  weren't  any  lamps  and 
things,  it  would  have  worked  fine.  I  tell  you, 
Tess,  we  could  string  it  from  your  house  to  mine, 
and  the  carrier  could  be  loaded  up  at  one  station 
and  unloaded  and  loaded  again  at  the  other. 
Crickey,  it  would  be  fun !" 

"But  maybe  Ruthie  wouldn't  let  us  do  it,'* 
suggested  Tess,  beginning  to  be  enamored  of  the 
boy's   idea,   yet   having  her  doubts   about   the 


18    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

feasibility  of  the  plan.  **It  would  knock  people's 
hats  off /» 

**What  would!"  gasped  Sammy. 

"The  wire — or  the  airship  traveling  back  and 
forth. »» 

**0h,  Je-ru-sa-?em/''  again  exploded  Sammy. 
"You  wanted  an  airship,  didn't  you?  'Way  up 
in  the  air — not  so's  you  can  reach  it  from  the 
ground.  Why,  we  'II  string  the  wire  from  my  bed- 
room window  to  one  of  the  windows  of  the  room 
you  and  Dot  sleep  in." 

"Oh!"  cried  Dot,  beginning  to  visualize  the 
scheme  now.  "Just  like  the  cash-carriers  in  the 
Five  and  Ten  Cent  Store." 

"But  Ruthie  wouldn't  let  us,  I'm  afraid,"  mur- 
mured Tess,  still  doubtful. 

"Let's  ask  her,"  said  Sammy. 

"Oh,  let 'si"  cried  Dot. 

But  when  they  hunted  for  Ruth,  the  eldest  of 
the  four  Corner  House  girls,  she  was  not  to  be 
found  on  the  premises;  and  if  the  children  had 
but  known  it  just  at  that  time  Ruth  Ken  way  was 
having  an  adventure  of  her  own  which  was,  later, 
to  prove  of  immense  interest  to  all  the  Comer 
House  family. 


CHAPTER  n 

THE  OLD   GENTLEMAN   WITH   THE   GREEN 
UMBRELLA 

Nobody  had  ever  called  Ruth  Kenway  pretty. 
That  was,  perhaps,  because  her  next  youngest 
sister,  Agnes,  was  an  acknowledged  beauty. 
Everything  is  comparative. 

Mrs  MacCall  said  that  *' handsome  is  as  hand- 
some does."  Then,  of  course,  in  the  minds  of  the 
other  members  of  the  Corner  House  family,  Ruth 
was  very  beautiful  indeed. 

She  had  a  lovely  smile,  and  a  low  sweet, 
** mother'*  voice.  She  was,  indeed,  all  the  mother 
Dot  had  ever  known;  nor  could  Tess  remember 
their  **really-truly"  mother  very  clearly. 

Ruth  had  been  calling  on  the  other  side  of  town. 
She  went  once  a  week  without  fail  to  have  after- 
noon tea  with  Mr.  Howbridge,  their  guardian  and 
the  administrator  of  the  Stower  estate,  and  this 
was  the  afternoon  for  that  pleasant  duty. 

If  there  was  anything  of  a  serious  nature  to  be 
talked  over  between  the  lawyer  and  the  oldest 
Comer  House  girl,  it  was  done  in  his  pleasant 
library  over  the  old  silver  tea  service,  where  there 
were  no  "small  pitchers  with  big  ears." 

**And  so  our  moneys  are  growing,  Ruth,"  Mr. 

19 


20    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Howbridge  said  thoughtfully,  having  ended  the 
discussion  of  some  minor  point  of  business.  He 
admired  Ruth's  good  sense  as  well  as  her 
character,  and  so  frequently  discussed  matters 
of  business  with  her  that  he  was  not  obliged  by 
his  oath  of  office  to  do. 

**In  a  few  months  we  shall  have  considerable 
cash  on  hand  in  the  bank;  and  three  and  a  half 
per  cent,  is  small  interest  on  a  large  sum  of 
money.    Somehow  we  must  invest  it.** 

Ruth's  eyes  twinkled.  **I  suppose  you  really 
need  our  advice,  Mr.  Howbridge?  Of  course,  if 
you  left  it  to  the  Comer  House  girls  to  invest  it 
would  probably  bring  in  only  a  high  percentage 
of  enjoyment. 

*' Agnes  would  have  a  flock  of  automobiles. 
Tessie  would  spend  it  all  on  making  other  people 
happy.  Dot  would  have  an  entire  sanitarium  de- 
voted to  the  treatment  of  dolls." 

"And  you,  my  dear?"  asked  the  lawyer,  smil- 
ing. 

**Ah,  if  you  want  my  advice,  Mr.  Howbridge, 
you  must  do  as  all  your  clients  have  to  do.  You 
must  give  me  a  retainer,"  and  she  rose,  laughing, 
to  don  her  light  coat. 

**But  I  will  keep  my  mind  on  it,"  she  added. 
**Who  knows?  Perhaps  some  wise  thought  may 
fly  my  way.  And  all  that  money !  It  will  really 
make  a  fine  investment." 

** Remember,  you  girls  will  expect  your  Mots' 
out  of  the  estate  some  day,"  chuckled  Mr.  How- 


The  Green  Umbrella  21 

bridge.  "Your  own  dowry  will  oome  first,  I  pre- 
sume, Rutli." 

'*Me?  Get  married  I  With  the  children  so 
dependent  upon  me?"  gasped  the  eldest  Comer 
House  girl.  But  she  blushed  warmly  and  averted 
her  eyes  from  the  shrewd  gaze  of  the  lawyer. 
**Now  you  are  talking  nonsense,  Mr.  Howbridge." 

He  let  her  go  without  comment.  But  to  himself 
he  murmured: 

**I  never  knew  it  to  fail.  These  girls  who  are 
determined  to  be  spinsters  are  always  the  first  to 
be  caught  in  the  coil  of  matrimony. '  * 

If  Ruth's  thoughts  lingered  upon  such  a  ridic- 
ulous suggestion  (ridiculous  from  her  standpoint) 
after  she  left  the  lawyer's  house,  her  expression 
of  countenance  did  not  show  it.  She  walked 
cheerfully  along  the  shaded  street  toward  Milton's 
railroad  station,  for  the  old  Comer  House  stood 
upon  the  corner  of  Willow  and  Main  Streets,  op- 
posite the  Parade  Ground,  quite  on  the  other  side 
of  town. 

She  crossed  the  canal  and  was  almost  in  sight 
of  the  station  when  she  saw  a  tall  figure  ahead  of 
her  whose  singular  gait  and  old-fashioned  manner 
of  dress  would  have  caused  comment  anywhere. 

To  wear  a  "stove-pipe"  hat  on  a  hot  day  like 
this,  with  a  heavy,  dark  frock-coat  and  gray 
trousers,  with  his  feet  encased  in  overshoes, 
seemed  to  the  casual  observer  rather  ridiculous. 

"Why,"  thought  Ruth,  "he  looks  as  Seneca 
Sprague  might  if  he  were  dressed  up  and  going 


22    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

to  his  own  wedding,'*  and  she  laughed  to  think  of 
that  ridiculous  possibility  regarding  one  of  the 
weU-known  characters  of  Milton. 

This  old  gentleman  was  a  stranger  to  her,  Euth 
was  sure.  Milton  being  a  junction  point  of  two 
railroads,  there  were  often  strangers  about  the 
railroad  station  waiting  for  connections  on  one 
or  the  other  of  the  roads.  This  man  must  be,  the 
girl  thought,  such  a  marooned  passenger. 

As  he  reached  the  edge  of  the  shade  cast  by 
the  trees  on  Pleasant  Street  and  stepped  into  the 
glare  of  the  open  square  about  the  railway  station, 
he  unfurled  a  huge  umbrella  and  raised  it  to  shield 
himself  from  the  sun's  glare.  It  was  a  most 
astonishing  umbrella.  The  upper  side  was  a 
faded  green;  the  under  side  an  age-yellowed 
white. 

"Whj'-,"  thought  Ruth,  '*it  must  be  an  heirloom 
in  his  family." 

Amused,  she  continued  directly  behind  the  old 
gentleman  as  he  started  to  cross  the  four  tracks 
which  blotted  the  center  of  Milton.  Accidents  had 
happened  more  than  once  at  this  grade  crossing, 
and  the  town  councilmen  had  been  in  hot  water 
with  the  taxpayers  for  some  years  regarding  the 
changing  of  the  railroad's  level. 

There  were  drop  gates,  but  only  one  decrepit 
watchman  here  at  Pleasant  Street.  Ruth  always 
looked  both  ways  when  she  started  to  cross  the 
tracks.  And  at  this  time — or  about  this  time — in 
the  afternoon  the  so-called  Cannon -Ball  Express 


The  Green  Umbrella  23 

went  through.  That  train  did  not  even  hesitate 
at  Milton. 

Quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  girl  halted  when 
she  came  to  the  tracks  and  looked  both  east  and 
west.  A  freight  train  was  backing  down  past  the 
station  on  the  third  track.  The  second  track  was 
open  for  passenger  traffic.  There  was  a  growing 
roar  from  the  west. 

The  old  gentleman  stopped  and  peered  in  that 
direction.  He  could  easily  have  crossed  ahead 
of  the  slow  freight,  but  like  Ruth  he  was  doubtful 
regarding  the  growing  clamor  of  the  approaching 
express,  although  that  fast-flier  was  not  yet  in 
sight  at  the  curve. 

**But  it's  coming!**  murmured  Ruth.  **He 
mustn't  cross  I" 

The  old  gentleman  with  the  green  umbrella  had 
no  intention  of  crossing  ahead  of  the  express ;  but 
Ruth  heard  him  utter  an  impatient  exclamation 
as  he  stepped  back  a  little  from  proximity  to  the 
second  track,  the  first  track  being  merely  a  siding 
for  shunted  freight  cars. 

He  was  so  close  to  the  oldest  Comer  House  girl 
now  that  she  could  view  his  countenance  easily 
without  appearing  to  be  curious.  But  she  was 
curious  about  the  old  gentleman.  However, 
being  Ruth  Kenway,  she  would  not  have  shown 
this  in  any  way  to  ruflBe  his  feelings ;  for,  despite 
her  own  youth,  Ruth  had  mothered  her  three  or- 
phaned sisters  for  so  long  that  she  was  more 
sedate  and  thoughtful  than  most  girls  of  her  age. 


24    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Just  at  this  moment  the  Cannon-Ball  Express 
came  tearing  into  view,  shrieking  its  warning  for 
the  Pleasant  Street  crossing.  The  old  gentleman 
was  standing  too  near  the  rails,  in  Ruth's  opinion. 
She  involuntarily  put  forth  her  hand  and  seized 
hold  of  his  coat.  He  turned  to  glare  upon  the 
freshly  dressed,  sweet-looking  girl  heside  him 
with  what  would  have  been  an  audible  grunt  of 
disapproval  had  the  oncoming  train  not  made 
such  a  noise  and  with  a  look  that  caused  her  to 
drop  her  hand  immediately. 

His  face  was  a  marvelous  network  of  wrinkles ; 
he  wore  amber  dust-goggles;  his  mouth  was  a 
grim  slit  in  his  brown  face,  like  the  trap  of  a  letter- 
box. It  did  not  seem  possible  that  any  one  could 
look  on  Ruth  Kenway's  sweet  face  with  such  a 
grim  and  unkind  expression  on  the  countenance. 
But  the  man  turned  from  her  with  no  softening 
in  his  look. 

The  express  was  now  fairly  upon  them.  The 
suction  of  such  a  rapidly  flying  train  is  consid- 
erable. And  that  hugh  umbrella  made  the  acci- 
dent unescapable. 

The  train  shrieked  by.  Ruth  herself  felt  the 
wind  of  it,  and  her  skirts  blew  around  her  body 
tightly. 

The  blast  got  beneath  the  big  umbrella,  and 
Ruth  saw  the  old  gentleman  seize  hold  upon  the 
handle  with  both  hands.  The  umbrella  bellied 
and  creaked.  The  last  car  whisked  past,  and 
within  the  cyclone  of  flying  sand  and  gravel  which 


The  Green  Umbrella  25 

followed  it  the  nnfortunate  old  gentleman  was 
caught. 

Clinging  to  his  umbrella,  which  was  really  the 
cause  of  all  his  trouble,  he  whirled  like  a  dervish 
across  the  second  track  in  the  wake  of  the  ex- 
press, and  stumbling,  went  to  his  knees  between 
that  set  of  rails  and  the  third  track,  on  which 
the  freight  train  was  backing  slowly  toward  them. 

Had  he  put  the  umbrella  down  he  would  have 
been  all  right.  But  his  stubborn  character  was 
displayed  to  the  full  by  his  still  gripping  the 
unwieldy  thing  and,  like  **01d  Grindstone 
George,"  hanging  on  to  the  handle.  He  stag- 
gered to  his  feet,  the  umbrella  quite  hiding  the 
coming  freight  train  from  his  view,  and  stumbled 
a  pace  forward,  directly  toward  the  third  track. 

Ruth,  with  a  startled  scream,  forgetting  self, 
ignoring  the  man's  former  scowls  and  harshness, 
sprang  forward  and  again  seized  the  old  gentle- 
man's coat,  this  time  with  firmness  and  a  deter- 
mination not  to  allow  herself  to  be  repulsed. 

While  Ruth  Kenway  is  struggling  to  save  this 
stranger  from  accident  and  probable  death,  it  is 
a  good  time  to  turn  back  and  give  those  readers 
who  are  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  Comer 
House  girls  for  the  first  time  in  this  present 
volume  a  little  sketch  of  who  these  girls  are  and 
of  their  adventures  and  pleasures  as  set  forth  in 
the  previous  volumes  of  this  series. 

Tn  the  first  book  of  the  series,  entitled  "The 
Comer  House  Girls,"  the  sisters  are  introduced 


26    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

as  living  in  a  larger  city  and  in  very  poor  circum- 
stances. Their  father  and  mother  being  dead, 
Euth  had  to  manage  for  the  family  on  a  very  small 
pension  from  the  Government.  Aunt  Sarah 
Maltby,  who  was  peculiar  in  more  ways  than  one, 
was  a  liability  instead  of  an  asset  to  the  family. 

This  queer  old  woman  was  always  expecting 
that  a  large  fortune  would  be  left  to  her  when  Mr. 
Peter  Stower,  of  Milton,  should  die.  Mr.  Stower 
had  quarreled  with  all  his  relatives.  Especially 
had  he  quarreled  with  his  half-sister  Sarah. 
Nevertheless,  Aunt  Sarah  believed  his  money  and 
the  old  homestead  would  come  to  her. 

Instead,  Mr.  Stower  willed  it  all  to  the  four 
Kenway  girls,  making  Mr.  Howbridge  the  admin- 
istrator of  the  estate  and  the  guardian  of  the 
girls.  Therefore,  Miss  Sarah  Maltby  was  still  a 
pensioner  on  the  bounty  of  the  Corner  House  girls, 
and  the  fact  perhaps  made  her  more  crabbed  of 
temper  than  she  otherwise  might  have  been. 

Having  settled  down  in  the  old  Corner  House 
to  live,  with  Mrs.  MacCall  as  housekeeper  and 
Uncle  Rufus  as  man  of  all  work,  the  girls  next 
took  up  the  matter  of  education,  as  related  in 
"The  Comer  House  Girls  at  School."  The  four 
sisters  got  acquainted  with  their  new  environment 
and  made  new  friends  and  a  few  enemies.  Par- 
ticularly they  became  chummy  with  Neale  O'Neil, 
the  boy  who  had  run  away  from  a  circus  to  get 
an  education.  Neale  became  a  fixture  in  the 
neighborhood,  living  with  Mr.  Con  Murphy,  the 


The  Green  UmbreUa  27, 

cobbler,  on  the  street  back  of  the  Corner  House. 
He  became  Agnes  Kenway's  particular  and  con- 
tmual  boy  chum. 

During  the  summer  vacation  Euth  and  her  sis- 
ters went  to  Pleasant  Cove  where  they  thoroughly 
enjoyed  themselves  and  had  adventures  galore,  as 
told  in  the  third  volume,  entitled  ''The  Comer 
House  Girls  Under  Canvas." 

As  has  been  already  mentioned,  the  sisters  had 
parts  in  the  school  play  The  Carnation  Countess, 
the  following  winter.  Tess  was  Swiftwing,  the 
Hummingbird,  and  Dot,  a  husy,  busy  bee,  a  part 
that  the  smallest  Corner  House  girl  acted  to  per- 
fection. Agnes,  who  had  a  bent  for  theatricals, 
was  immensely  successful  as  Innocent  Delight, 
and  Ruth,  of  course,  did  her  part  well.  In  "The 
Corner  House  Girls  in  a  Play,"  the  fourth  volume, 
these  adventures  and  incidents  are  detailed. 

**The  Comer  House  Girls'  Odd  Find"  made 
two  of  their  very  dearest  friends  wealthy,  and 
incidentally  brought  to  the  sister  what  Agnes  had 
longed  for  more  than  **  anything  else  in  the  whole 
world" — a  touring  car.  In  that  they  took  a  long 
trip,  as  related  in  **The  Comer  House  Girls  on  a 
Tour."  On  that  journey,  but  recently  completed, 
Neale  O'Neil  had  accompanied  the  sisters  to  drive 
the  car.  Mrs.  Heard,  a  good  friend,  had  been 
their  chaperon,  and  Sammy  Pinkney,  the  boy  who 
was  determined  to  be  a  pirate,  was  what  Neale 
termed  "an  excrescence  on  the  touring  party" 
during  the  exciting  trip. 


28    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  tip 

Ruth  Kenway  had  been  thinking  of  something 
that  had  occurred  during  their  automobile  trip 
just  before  spying  the  old  gentleman  with  the 
green  umbrella.  She  had  that  very  day  received 
a  letter  from  Cecile  Shepard,  whom,  with  her 
brother  Luke,  the  Corner  House  girls  had  met  dur- 
ing their  tour.  And  Kuth  hoped  that  Cecile  would 
spend  a  week  at  the  old  Corner  House  before 
going'  back  in  September  to  the  preparatory  school 
which  she  attended. 

But  now  the  old  man's  peril,  her  own  alarm  and 
her  desire  to  save  the  stranger's  life,  drove  all 
other  thoughts  out  of  the  girl's  mind. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  AEBIAL   TEAMWAY 

He  might  have  gone  right  under  the  wheels  of 
the  backing  freight  train — that  queer  looking  old 
gentleman — umbrella  and  all!  Ruth  Kenway 
dragged  him  back,  and  the  train  rumbled  past 
them  so  near  that  the  umbrella  scraped  along  the 
sides  of  the  box-cars. 

**What  under  the  sun's  the  matter  with  you, 
girl?"  snapped  the  old  man. 

He  turned  on  her  so  angrily,  and  furled  the 
huge  umbrella  with  such  emphasis,  that  Ruth  was 
quite  startled,  although  she  had  thought  that  this 
time  she  would  be  prepared  for  any  outbreak  of 
irritation  or  displeasure  on  his  part.  She  backed 
away  from  him,  and  as  other  people  who  had  seen 
the  incident  came  crowding  about,  the  girl  slipped 
away  and  crossed  the  tracks  hurriedly  when  the 
freight  train  had  gone  by. 

But  the  one-armed  flagman  and  other  railroad 
employees  let  the  old  gentleman  understand  be- 
yond peradventure  that  he  had  barely  escaped  a 
dreadful  accident.  He  had  been  about  to  step 
directly  in  the  path  of  the  backing  freight  train. 

"My,  my,  my!"  he  exclaimed  at  last,  **  *tisn't 
possible!" 

29 


30    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**It  just  is  possible!"  retorted  the  one-armed 
flagman.  **One  minute  more  and  you'd  Ve  been 
ground  to  powder  like  as  not  if  it  hadn't  been  for 
that  there  girl.    Some  spunk,  she's  got.'* 

''Some  quick  thinkin'  she  done!"  exclaimed 
another  of  the  employees.  **Man  alive,  you 
wouldn't  have  no  head  on  your  shoulders  right 
now  if  she  hadn't  knowed  what  to  do  at  once  and 
done  it  instanter.    No  siree!" 

**My!  my!  my!"  said  the  old  gentleman  again. 
*'That  girl  then  saved  my  life!  Possibly  saved 
me  from  a  worse  fate — to  live  on  through  the 
years  maimed  and  mutilated." 

Just  then  the  train  for  which  the  old  gentleman 
was  waiting  came  in  sight  and  soon  drew  up  at 
the  Milton  station. 

"Then  I  really  owe  that  girl  an  apology,"  he 
went  on.  *'Who  is  she?  Does  she  live  here?"  he 
asked  one  of  the  bystanders. 

**Sure  she  lives  here." 

**Well,  I  can't  stop  to-day.  I've  got  to  hurry. 
But  I  shall  look  her  up  the  next  time  I  come  this 
way.  Oh,  yes  indeed,  I  shall  look  her  up!  For 
a  girl  she  certainly  showed  good  sense." 

"I  don't  know  whether  she  did  or  not,"  scoffed 
the  man  to  whom  he  spoke,  but  under  his  breath. 
**You  don't  look  as  though  you  were  such  a  lot 
of  use  in  the  world,  if  you  ask  me.  I  bet  you're 
a  Tartar!" 

Ruth  Kenway,  however,  did  not  expect  to  be 
thanked.    The  old  gentleman  with  the  green  um- 


The  Aerial  Tramway  31 

brella  passed  out  of  her  mind  for  the  time  being 
before  she  reached  home.  And  there  she  found 
the  assembled  young  folks  in  the  throes  of  a  dis- 
cussion regarding  Tess  and  Sammy's  proposed 
aerial  tramway. 

**Do  call  it  'tramway,'  "  begged  Agnes.  **It 
sounds  so  awfully  English,  don't  you  know!" 

**It  sounds  so  awfully  foolish,  don't  you  know," 
said  Neale  O'Neil,  who  had  come  over  the  fence 
from  Mr.  Con  Murphy's  yard  and  sat  on  the  stoop 
regaling  himself  upon  a  summer  apple  he  had 
picked  on  his  way.  "Have  a  summer  sweetnin', 
Agt" 

**I  do  wish  you  would  call  her  by  her  right 
name,  Neale,"  said  Euth,  sharply,  for  she  did 
not  approve  of  Neale 's  slang. 

**Dear  me!  'What's  in  a  name?'  to  quote  the 
Immortal  Bard,"  drawled  the  youth. 

**A  good  deal  sometimes,"  chuckled  Agnes,  who 
did  not  much  mind  having  her  name  shortened. 
**Wait  till  I  look  up  in  my  scrap  book  the  name 
of  that  special  cheese  which  is  made  by  the  Swiss 
for  use  in  Passion  Play  week.  It's  got  all  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet  in  it  twice.'* 

** Never  mind  looking  it  up,"  advised  Euth, 
quickly. 

"No,"  said  Neale.  "We'll  take  your  word  for 
there  being  something  in  it.  An  odoriferous  odor, 
I  bet,  if  it's  like  most  of  those  fancy  cheeses." 

"Why,"  said  Tess,  reprovingly,  "I  thought  we 
were  talking  about  my  airship  line." 


32    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**  *Back  to  the  mines,  men!  there'll  be  no  strike 
to-day  I*  "  quoted  Agnes.  **It's  up  to  you,  Neale. 
Sammy  and  Tess  have  originated  the  idea.  All 
you  have  to  do  is  to  find  the  materials  and  do 
the  work." 

**If  Ruth  says  we  may,"  added  Tess,  without 
at  all  appreciating  her  sister's  sarcasm. 

"Why,  there's  no  harm,  I  suppose.  A  basket 
to  pull  across  the  street?  Does  your  mother  say 
you  may,  Sammy?" 

*  *  Oh,  yes,  Ruth,  * '  declared  the  boy.  *  *  I  just  ran 
and  asked  her." 

"What  did  she  say?" 

"We-ell,"  Sammy  admitted  slowly,  "she  was 
busy  cutting  out  something  on  the  dining-room 
table  and  her  mouth  was  full  of  pins.  I  had  to 
ask  her  two  or  three  times  before  she  seemed  to 
hear  me." 

"And  then  what  did  she  say?"  insisted  Ruth, 
with  suspicion,  knowing  both  Sammy  and  his 
mother  pretty  well. 

"Why,  she  said:  *If  you  will  only  go  out  and 
stop  bothering  me  for  an  hour  I  don't  care  what 
you  do.'  So,  ain't  that  saying  I  can?"  demanded 
Sammy. 

"I  should  say  she  had  given  you  carte  blanche/* 
chuckled  Neale,  while  the  older  Comer  House 
girls  laughed. 

"I  think  you  may  go  as  far  as  to  get  the  wire, 
pulleys,  and  other  things  needed,"  Ruth  said.    "I 


The  Aerial  Tramway  33 

will  ask  Sammy's  mother  myself  when  she  is  not 
so  strenuously  engaged." 

Dot  listened  to  this  and  gazed  after  the  depart- 
ing older  sister  in  something  like  awe. 

''What  is  it,  Dottums?"  asked  Agnes,  chuck- 
ing the  little  fairylike  child  under  her  soft  chin. 

"Oh,  our  Ruth  does  talk  so  beautifully,"  sighed 
the  smallest  Comer  House  girl.  **What  does 
'strain — strain-u-ous-ly '  mean,  Aggie!" 

** Exactly  that,"  laughed  her  sister.  **Mrs. 
Pinkney  certainly  was  working  under  a  'strain.* 
You  have  hit  the  meaning  of  'strenuously*  better 
even  than  Mr.  Dick." 

**Who  is  Mr.  Dick?"  demanded  Dot,  the  unap- 
peasable. 

"The  man  who  knows  everything,"  said  Neale, 
throwing  away  the  core  of  his  apple  and  stroll- 
ing to  the  gate  on  his  way  to  the  hardware  store 
to  purchase  the  materials  for  the  aeriel  tramway. 

"The  dictionary,  goosey,"  said  Tess  in  explana- 
tion to  Dot.  * '  Don 't  you  know  yet  what  they  mean 
when  they  are  joking  us?" 

"I  only  wanted  to  know/*  said  Dot  rather 
grieved. 

"Never  mind,"  said  Sammy,  being  left  alone 
with  the  two  smaller  girls.  * '  Let  'em  laugh.  We 
won't  get  mad  at  'em  till  that  wire's  up  and  the 
car  is  running  all  right." 

Oh,  Sammy  Pinkney  was  a  practical  lad. 

Dot,  unable  long  to  keep  any  exciting  happening 


34     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

or  interest  to  herself,  was  disseminating  the  news 
of  the  proposed  "airship  line*'  throughout  the 
Comer  House  household.  Uncle  Kufus,  the 
brown  black-man,  who  was  working  just  then  in 
the  garden,  was  vastly  astonished. 

**Ma  'Lantic  Ocean!"  he  gasped.  "What  will 
dese  yere  chillun  be  doin'  next,  I  want  to  know! 
Puttin'  up  a  trolley  line,  is  they,  fo*  airships? 
Who  ever  heard  de  like?'* 

**0h,  air-re-ro-planes  I "  said  Dot,  having  heard 
a  new  word  and  rather  liking  the  rolling  syllables 
of  it.  "Air-re-ro-planes  are  getting  very  com- 
mon, so  Aggie  says.  There  is  going  to  be  one  at 
the  County  Fair.  Why,  people  will  be  riding  m 
them  just  like  trolley  cars,  pretty  soon ! ' ' 

"Ma  goodness!  No!"  ejaculated  the  old  man. 
"I  don't  want  to  wake  up  on  dat  day  when  dat 
dere  comes  to  pass.  Lookut,  chile!  If  de  air- 
ships was  a  steamin'  around  over  our  haids,  we'd 
nebber  be  sure  of  our  lives.  Why,  dey'd  be 
throwin'  over  ashes,  and  de  cooks  would  be 
emptyin'  garbage  pails  over  de  rails  like  dey  does 
aboard  steamships.  Wouldn't  be  no  sharks  dere 
to  gobble  down  de  leavin's — ^no,  ma'am!  On'y 
birds.  And  folks  aboard  would  be  droppin'  t'ings 
out'n  de  airship.  An'  w'en  a  man  fell  overboard 
— ma  mercy,  chile!  he'd  come  down  plump  on  you' 
haid,  mebbe!  No,  ma'am,  dey  won't  never  'low 
it,"  and  the  old  negro  shook  his  head  seriously. 

These  perfectly  good  objections  to  the  practi- 
cability of  airship  flying  impressed  the  smallest 


The  Aerial  Tramway  35 

Comer  House  girl  deeply.  She  intended  to  re- 
turn to  talk  to  Sammy  and  Tess  about  it;  but  on 
her  way,  as  she  came  along  the  path  next  to  the 
Willow  Street  fence,  she  suddenly  saw  Sammy's 
bandy-legged  bulldog  charging  across  the  street, 
probably  in  search  of  his  young  master.  The  dog 
had  slipped  his  chain  in  some  way  and  being  a 
ferocious-looking  beast  at  best,  it  was  no  wonder 
that  pedestrians  gave  him  a  wide  berth. 

Suddenly  Dot,  inside  the  fence,  heard  a  stifled 
cry  of  fear  outside  the  fence.  Looking  up  from 
her  Alice-doll  she  saw  a  woman  clinging  to  the 
fence  pickets  as  though  she  contemplated  climb- 
ing the  barrier  to  escape  the  dog;  and  the  dog 
was  standing  before  her  wagging  his  stump  of  a 
tail  slightly  and  showing  two  formidable  rows  of 
teeth  while  he  ** laughed"  at  her  perturbation. 

"Oh,  don't  be  afraid  of  Sammy's  dog,"  advised 
Dot.    **He  won't  bite  you." 

**He  won't  bite?"  demanded  the  woman,  who 
was  evidently  of  a  nervous  disposition.  "What's 
he  got  all  those  teeth  for?    He  doesn't  bite?" 

"Oh — oh,  no,  ma'am.    He  only  nibbles." 

Then  she  called  the  dog  and  the  woman  went  on, 
relieved.  But  when  her  fright  was  past  she  prob- 
ably confessed  to  herself  that  the  smallest  Corner 
House  girl  certainly  had  originality  of  ideas. 

Dot  would  not  let  the  bulldog  into  the  yard,  for 
he  would  have  at  once  sought  out  Billy  Bumps, 
the  goat,  to  tease  him.  He  and  Billy  were  sworn 
and  deadly  enemies. 


36    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Sanrmy  and  Tess  had  disappeared.  So,  still 
feeling  the  necessity  for  discussing  the  airship 
matter  with  somebody,  Dot  went  upstairs  to 
Aunt  Sarah's  room. 

Aunt  Sarah  Maltby  was  forever  engaged  in 
sewing  or  in  fancy  work;  and,  to  tell  the  truth, 
Dot  was  not  much  interested  in  needlework.  She 
was  often  seized  upon  by  Aunt  Sarah,  however, 
and  made  to  sit  down  to  sew  patchwork. 

**  Every  little  girl,  when  I  was  a  little  girl,  had 
to  learn  to  use  her  needle,"  declared  the  spinster. 
*'When  I  was  your  age,  Dorothy  Kenway,  I  had 
pieced  half  a  block  bedquilt  and  was  learning  to 
do  feather-stitching. ' ' 

**Yes  ma'am,"  said  Dot,  politely.  *'It  must 
have  been  very  int  'resting. ' '  But  she  did  not  care 
for  such  amusement  herself.  On  this  occasion, 
before  she  could  even  broach  the  airship  matter, 
Aunt  Sarah  seized  upon  a  fault  that  Dot  had  not 
even  noticed  before. 

**Look  here  I"  exclaimed  Aunt  Sarah.  ''What 
have  you  done  to  your  stocking?" 

"I — ^I — I'm  wearing  it,"  confessed  Dot,  star- 
tled, but  looking  down  at  her  neat  little  shins  in 
their  white  hose. 

** Wearing  them!  You're  wearing  them  out!** 
ejaculated  Aunt  Sarah,  pointing  to  a  hole  that 
Dot  could  not  possibly  see,  for  it  was  behind  her. 
**And  those  stockings  were  put  on  fresh  this  af- 
ternoon." 


The  Aerial  Tramway  37 

"Yes,  ina*ain,"  admitted  Dot,  for  it  was  of  no 
use  to  argue  with  Aunt  Sarah. 

"When  I  was  your  age,"  (a  favorite  expression 
of  Aunt  Sarah's)  "I  darned  my  o\vn  stockings. 
And  you  don't  even  know  what  needles  are  for!" 

"Oh,  yes  I  do,  please,  Auntie.  They're  to  make 
the  talking  machine  play!"  declared  Dot,  fright- 
ened by  Aunt  Sarah's  manner  into  most  unusual 
perversity.  She  was  usually  a  gentle,  obedient 
child. 

Aunt  Sarah  was  in  no  mood  to  listen  to  anything 
about  airships  after  that;  and  Dot  took  her  first 
lesson  in  darning,  there  and  then.  The  old  lady 
and  the  little  girl  came  down  to  dinner  that 
evening  in  a  rather  sober  frame  of  mind,  for  the 
occasion  had  been  wearing  upon  both  of  them. 

The  evening  meal  at  the  old  Corner  House  was 
usually,  however,  a  cheering  event.  Mrs.  MacCall 
held  sway  at  one  end  of  the  long  table  in  the  huge 
dining-room,  while  Aunt  Sarah  sat  at  the  foot. 
The  girls  held  places  on  either  side,  and  if  they 
had  guests  the  latter  were  scattered  between  the 
Corner  House  girls  and  made  to  feel  at  home. 

The  table  here  was,  in  the  truest  sense,  an  "ex- 
tension table."  Uncle  Eufus  who,  in  a  bobtail 
coat,  white  vest  and  spats,  acted  as  butler,  length- 
ened the  table  or  shortened  it,  according  to  the 
number  to  be  served. 

Damask  and  bright  silver  and  glass  made  the 
board  attractive.    The  old-fashioned  furniture  as 


38    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

well  as  the  table  service  were  the  special  care 
of  the  old  negro.  His  pride  and  his  delight  were 
in  the  years  he  had  served  at  the  old  Stower 
table. 

When  the  family  was  alone  it  is  a  fact  that 
Uncle  Eufus  considered  himself  privileged  to  join 
in  the  children's  conversation.  And  this  made 
the  meal  no  less  enjoyable,  for  Uncle  Eufus  added 
nothing,  if  he  did  not  add  joy,  to  the  occasion. 

**I  never  lets  ma  feelin's  flow,  as  some  folks 
does, ' '  he  chanced  to  observe.  * '  Tears  don 't  wash 
a  body's  face  nowhar's  near  as  good  as  soap  an' 
watah — no,  ma'am! 

"Now,  dere's  ma  daughter,  Pechunia:  She'd 
ruther  cry  dan  eat  and  at  dat  you  kin  see  by  her 
size  she  don't  starb  herself.  She  suttenly  does 
love  to  attend  fun'rals  an'  sech  social  gadderin's 
whar  dey  kin  sit  down  an'  tell  'bout  haw  good  de 
remains  was  'fore  de  Grim  Eeaper  come  an' 
reaped  'em." 

Uncle  Eufus  sniffed.  **Dat  foolish  brack  wom- 
an! She  b 'longs  right  now  to  so  many  buryin' 
sassieties  dat  if  she  done  gits  buried  by  all  of  'em 
when  she  dies,  'twill  take  more'n  one  day  to  hoi' 
her  fun'ral,  an'  dat's  a  fac'! 

**Ya-as!  Pechunia  does  love  to  mo'n.  She'd 
a  made  a  moughty  good  wife  fo'  Jeremiah. 
'Twas  so  when  her  mammy  died.  I  done  suf- 
fered as  much  as  any  widder-man  ought  to  t 'rough 
her  mammy  dyin'.  Ya-as,  ma'am.  But  I  tell 
you  what    'tis,   honey;    'tain't  no  use  to  keep 


The  Aerial  Tramway  39 

worritin'  and  worritin'  about  anyt'ing  dat's  done 
an*  gone — ^not  fo'ever. 

**Her  mammy  was  dead,  an*  if  I*d  been  let, 
ma  mind  would  ha'  kinda  chirked  up  a  bit  after 
a  w'ile.  But  dat  brack  gal  would  jes'  as  soon 
break  down  right  in  de  middle  of  dinner — ef  she  'd 
et  'nuff  herse'f — an*  bust  out  sobbin'  'bout  her 
mammy.  It  got  so  I  was  prospectin'  'round  fo' 
sumpin  to  t'row  at  her  haid!    I  sure  was. 

*'An'  de  fussin',  and  de  mo'nin'  dresses  and 
bunnits,  an'  de  circus-shows  she  had  to  hab  to 
show  she  was  properly  sorry  'cause  her  mammy 
had  gone.    Ma  soul!" 

Suddenly  Uncle  Kuf  us  began  to  chuckle  his  mel- 
low chuckle  and  they  knew  the  point  of  his  story 
was  at  hand. 

"She  done  want  to  write  to  all  de  rel'tives  an' 
friends  scattered  about  de  fo'ty  p'ints  of  the 
compass  'bout  her  mammy's  bein'  tuk  away.  Dis 
was  a  mighty  fur  time  back,  chillen ;  but  Pechunia 
was  jes  as  foolish  den  as  she  is  now." 

But  Uncle  Rufus  by  no  means  monopolized  the 
conversation  at  dinner  that  evening.  Tess  was 
so  full  of  the  aerial  tramway  that  she  would  have 
built  it  and  rebuilt  it  forty  times,  so  Agnes  said, 
if  they  had  not  begged  her  to  stop.  Dot  was  too 
depressed  to  think  of  much  but  darning.  Euth, 
however,  had  an  amusing  tale  to  tell. 

She  described  the  queer  looking  old  gentleman 
with  the  green  umbrella  and  told  quite  energet- 
ically of  the  adventure  at  the  railroad  crossing. 


40     Tke  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**My  dear!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  MacCall,  "you 
might  have  been  hurt  yourself.  What  a  start  I'd 
have  had  had  I  seen  you.  And  no  man  would  be 
worth  your  getting  hurt,  ma  lassie." 

*' Quite  right,"  croaked  Aunt  Sarah  from  the 
other  end  of  the  table.  Her  opinion  of  men  in 
general  coincided  with  Mrs.  MacCall 's  remark. 
The  old  Corner  House  was  a  good  deal  of  an 
Adamless  Eden.  But  now  Agnes  suggested  some- 
thing that  was  quite  sure  to  break  up  the  usual 
order  of  the  household  arrangements. 

"If  you  and  Aunt  Sarah  dislike  men  so,"  she 
asked  Mrs.  MacCall,  laughing,  "what  are  you 
going  to  do  when  Cecile  Shepard  and  her  brother 
come?    When  will  they  arrive,  EuthI" 

"On  Monday,  I  expect,"  said  the  older  sister. 
"But  I  am  sure  Aunt  Sarah  won't  mind  Luke 
Shepard  any  more  than  she  does  Neale — or 
Sammy. ' ' 

"Who  says  I  don't  mind  that  Neale  O'Neil?" 
snapped  the  old  woman.  "All  boys  are  a  nui- 
sance. And  this  Shepard  is  nothing  more  than 
a  boy,  is  he?" 

*  *  Oh,  he 's  quite  grown  up, ' '  said  Agnes.  "  He 's 
entering  his  junior  year  at  college." 

"And  he  owns  a  tin-peddler's  wagon,"  added 
Dot,  as  though  that  fact  surely  added  to  Luke 
Shepard 's  dignity  and  importance. 

"Hoh!"  sniffed  Aunt  Sarah,  "you  girls  do 
mix  up  with  the  strangest  people!  I  never  see 
your  beat!    A  tin  peddler  and  his  sister." 


The  Aerial  Tramway  41 

**But  Mrs.  Heard,  who  went  with  us  on  our 
motor  trip,  liked  and  approved  of  the  Shepards," 
Buth  said  quietly.  "I  think  they  are  very  plucky, 
too — orphans,  with  a  very  small  income,  and 
helping  to  pay  for  their  education  by  traveling 
with  a  peddler's  outfit  in  summer  and  letting  the 
team  and  route  out  to  another  peddler  during 
the  winter.    And  Cecile  is  lovely.*' 

**How  about  Luke?"  asked  Agnes  slyly,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  her  older  sister 
blush. 

Just  then  there  was  a  crash  on  the  side  porch 
and  in  a  moment  Neale's  glowing  face  was  thrust 
through  the  pantry  door. 

*' Eating,  folks?  I'll  have  to  hustle  or  Mr.  Con 
Murphy  will  eat  my  share  and  his  own,  too. 
There!  I've  brought  all  the  hardware  for  that 
aerial  tramway.  It's  on  the  porch.  Let  Tom 
Jonah  watch  it  to-night,  and  we'll  rig  it  in  the 
morning.'* 


CHAPTER  IV 

SCHOOL  IN    THE   OFFING 

Nealb  0  'Neil,  trained  as  an  acrobat,  had  never 
lost  his  suppleness  and  skill  in  trapeze  work  and 
other  gymnastics  since  leaving  Twomley  &  Sor- 
ber's  Herculean  Circus  and  Menagerie.  There 
was  a  fine  gymnasium  at  the  Milton  high  school 
"which  he  attended,  and  Neale  had  made  his  mark 
in  the  gymnasium  work  as  well  as  in  the  studies  he 
loved. 

It  was  no  trick  at  all  for  him  to  put  up  the 
wire  attachments  to  make  the  aerial  tramway 
altogether  to  the  satisfaction  of  Tess  and  Dot  and 
Sammy  Pinkney.  Before  evening  the  following 
day  the  wire  was  stretched  and  in  place,  the  pul- 
leys rigged,  and  the  wire  basket,  which  was  used 
as  the  car,  was  traveling  back  and  forth  briskly 
from  the  window  of  Sammy's  bedroom  to  one  of 
the  windows  of  the  large  room  in  the  east  ell  of 
the  old  Corner  House  where  Tess  and  Dot  slept 
and  had  their  dolls  and  playthings. 

With  lengths  of  clothesline  to  pull  the  wire  car 
back  and  forth,  it  was  easy  for  the  children  to 
manipulate  it.  And  the  car  was  roomy  enough 
and  strong  enough  to  hold  almost  anything  they 
might  wish  to  send  between  the  two  houses. 

Of  course,  it  was  not  exactly  an  airship  of  any 

42 


School  in  the  Offing  43 

kind.  But  for  the  time  Tess  Kenway,  who  was 
usually  modestly  satisfied  with  what  was  done  for 
her,  was  perfectly  delighted  with  the  arrange- 
ment. 

As  for  Dot,  she  was  so  pleased,  that  she  felt 
compelled  to  sit  right  down  in  the  middle  of  the 
drying  green  beneath  the  wire,  clasping  the  Alice- 
doll  close  to  her  breast,  and  gaze  up  at  the  car 
going  back  and  forth  as  Sammy  and  Tess  ma- 
nipulated it. 

**0h!  it's  delightsome!'*  gasped  the  little  girl, 
quoting  one  of  Agnes '  favorite  expressions. 

When  Sammy  came  down  and  looked  over  the 
fence  at  her  he  said: 

**Say,  Dot,  let's  give  your  dolls  a  ride.'* 

**Sam-my  Pink-ney!"  shrilled  Dot  vigorously. 
"If  you  ever  try  to  ride  my  Alice-doll  or  any  of 
her  sisters  in  that  car  up  there  I'll — ^I'll  never 
speak  to  you  again!" 

And  she  was  so  much  in  earnest  and  seemed  so 
near  to  tears  that  Sammy  hastily  gave  his  word 
of  honor — as  a  man  and  a  pirate — never  to  treat 
the  dolls  to  such  an  aerial  trip. 

Mabel  Creamer,  who  lived  next  door  on  Main 
Street,  wheeled  her  little  brother  over  to  Willow 
Street  to  view  the  wonder  of  the  aerial  tramway. 
Wlien  she  heard  that  Dot  and  Tess  would  not 
allow  their  dolls  to  be  used  as  passengers  in  the 
aerial  car,  she  offered  to  put  Bubby  up  there. 

**Why,  Mabel!"  gasped  Tess.  **S'pose  he 
should  fall  out?" 


44     Tlie  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**0h,*'  Mabel  replied  cooUy,  **he  wouldn't  hurt 
himself.  He  rolled  all  the  way  down  the  cellar 
stairs  yesterday  and  didn't  do  a  thing  to  himself 
— only  broke  the  cat's  dish,  'cause  he  landed  on 
it." 

"That's  some  tough  baby,"  pronounced  Neale; 
but  after  Mabel  had  wheeled  Bubby  away  Tess 
confided  to  Neale  that  she  knew  why  the  Creamer's 
youngest  was  so  *' tough." 

"Why,  you  know,"  Tess  said  earnestly,  "al- 
most everything  that  could  happen  to  a  baby  has 
happened  to  him.  Mabel  hates  to  take  care  of 
him,  and  she  is  always  forgetting  and  leaving  him 
to  tumble  out  of  the  carriage,  or  into  something 
babies  aren't  supposed  to  get  into." 

"And  'member  when  he  got  carried  away  in  the 
hamper  by  the  laundryman?"  broke  in  Dot.  "If 
it  hadn't  been  for  our  Agnes  following  in  Joe 
Eldred's  motor  car,  Bubby  might  have  been 
washed  and  ironed  and  brought  back  to  Mrs. 
Creamer  just  as  flat  as  a  pancake!" 

"That's  the  capsheaf,"  chuckled  Neale  O'Neil. 
"Bubby  Creamer  is  certainly  a  wonderful  kid. 
What  do  you  say,  Aggie?"  for  the  older  girl  had 
just  appeared,  ready  dressed  for  a  shopping  ex- 
cursion. 

"Silk- wool  to  mend  my  sweater;  pins — two 
kinds;  pearl  buttons  for  Dot's  waists;  a  celluloid 
thimble  for  Linda;  a  pair  of  hose  for  Mrs.  INfac 
— extra  tops;  Aunt  Sarah's  peppermints  for  Sun- 
day service;  lace  for  Ruthie's  collar;  hair  ribbons 


School  in  the  Offing  45 

for  Tessie ;  a  love  of  a  waist  I  saw  at  Blackstein 
&  Mape's!  and " 

**HelpI  Help!"  cried  Neale,  breaking  in  at  last. 
**And  you  expect  me  to  accompany  you  on  a 
shopping  trip,  Aggie,  when  youVe  all  those  femi- 
nine folderols  to  buy? 

"Why  not?'*  demanded  Agnes,  making  innocent 
eyes.    "I  want  you  to  carry  my  packages." 

"All  right.  But  you'll  hitch  me  out  in  front 
of  the  store  to  a  hitching  post  like  any  other  beast 
of  burden,"  returned  Neale,  following  in  her  foot- 
steps out  of  the  side  gate. 

This  was  a  Saturday.  Ruth  had  said  that  if 
they  were  to  have  company  all  the  following  week 
and  school  was  to  open  a  week  from  Monday,  they 
had  all  better  get  out  their  school  books  on  this 
evening  and  begin  to  get  familiar  with  the  studies 
they  were  to  go  back  to  so  soon. 

**At  least,  we  would  better  see  if  we  all  re- 
member our  A  B  C's,"  she  said  dryly.  "You, 
Sammy,  after  being  out  so  long  last  term  because 
of  the  scarlet  fever,  will  have  to  make  up  some 
studies  if  you  wish  to  keep  up  with  your  class." 

"Don't  care  whether  I  keep  up  or  not,"  growled 
Sammy.  *  *  I  just  hate  school.  Every  time  I  think 
of  it  I  feel  like  going  right  off  and  being  a  pirate, 
without  waiting  to  learn  navigation." 

For  Mr.  Pinkney,  who  was  a  very  wise  man, 
had  explained  to  Sammy  that  there  was  scarcely 
any  use  in  his  thinking  of  being  a  pirate  if  he 
could  not  navigate  a  ship.    And  navigation,  he 


46     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

further  explained,  was  a  form  of  mathematics  that 
could  only  be  studied  after  one  had  graduated 
from  high  school  and  knew  all  about  algebra. 

Nevertheless,  Sammy  appreciated  the  fact  that 
he  was  included  in  Ruth's  invitation  and  could 
bring  his  books  over  to  the  Corner  House  sitting- 
room  where  the  girls  and  Neale  0  'Neil  were  wont 
to  study  almost  every  week-day  night  during  the 
school  year. 

Neale  usually  took  supper  at  the  Corner  House 
on  Saturday  evenings  and,  considering  the  way  he 
came  back  from  the  shopping  expedition  laden 
with  bundles,  he  certainly  deserved  something  for 
**the  inner  man,'*  as  he  himself  expressed  it.  A 
truly  New  England  Saturday  night  supper  was 
almost  always  served  by  Mrs.  MacCall — ^baked 
beans,  brown  bread  and  codfish  cakes. 

And  pudding!  Mrs.  MacCall  was  famous  for 
her  **whangdoodle  pudding  and  lallygag  sauce" 
— a  title  she  had  given  once  to  cottage  pudding 
and  its  accompanying  dressing  to  satisfy  little 
folks'  teasing  questions  as  to  **what  is  that?** 
Neale  O'Neil  was  very  fond  of  this  delicacy. 

As  he  passed  his  plate  for  a  second  helping  on 
this  occasion  he  quoted  with  becoming  reverence : 
**The  woman  that  maketh  a  good  pudding  is  better 
than  a  tart  reply.'* 

**But  Mrs.  Adams  made  a  tart  once,"  observed 
Dot  seriously,  **and  instead  of  sifting  powdered 
sugar  on  it  she  got  hold  of  her  sand-shaker,  and 
when  she  gave  Margaret  Pease  and  me  each  a 


School  in  the  Offing  47 

piece  it  gritted  our  teeth  so  we  couldn't  eat  it. 
So  then,"  concluded  Dot,  **she  found  out  what 
she  had  done." 

*'If  she'd  given  it  to  Sammy  Pinkney,"  Tess 
said  morosely,  "I  guess  he'd  have  eaten  it  right 
down  and  never  said  a  word.  I  saw  him  drop 
his  bread  and  butter  and  'lasses  on  the  ground 
once,  and  he  picked  it  right  up  and  ate  it.  He  said 
the  ground  was  clean ! ' ' 

**No  wonder  Sammy's  such  a  gritty  little  chap," 
chuckled  Neale. 

**Well,"  Mrs.  MacCall  said  cheerfully,  and  with 
her  usual  optimism,  *'it's  an  old  saying  that  every- 
body has  to  eat  a  peck  of  dirt  before  he  dies." 

**So  'tis,  Mrs.  MacCall,"  Aunt  Sarah  rejoined 
from  her  end  of  the  table,  and  with  a  scornful 
sniff.  **But  I  want  to  know  whose  dirt  I'm  eat- 
ing. That  Sammy  Pinkney  is  nothing  but  a  little 
animal." 

This  puzzled  Dot  somewhat,  and  she  whispered 
to  Ruth:  **Ruthie,  are  good  little  boys,  then, 
vegetables  ? '  * 

**No,  dear,"  the  elder  sister  said,  smiling  while 
the  others  laughed.  **Both  bad  little  boys  and 
good  little  boys,  as  well  as  girls,  are  human 
beings." 

**And,"  said  Tess  soberly,  trying  to  recall 
something  she  had  learned  in  the  past,  **  there 
isn't  any  difference  between  bad  girls  and  bad 
boys,  only  the  boys  are  of  the  male  sex  and  the 
girls  are  of  the  feline  sex." 


48     The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

At  that  statement  there  was  a  burst  of  laughter. 

**  You  certainly  said  something  that  time,  Tess," 
declared  Neale.  "For  if  there  is  anything  more 
feline  than  a  girl  that's  mad — '* 

**  Nothing  like  that,  Neale  O'Neil,"  interrupted 
Agnes  quickly.  "You  would  better  sing  pretty 
small,  young  man.  Kemember  you  are  outnum- 
bered." 

**Yes,"  said  Tess  sedately,  "you  haven't  even 
Sammy  here  now  to  take  your  part,  you  know, 
Neale." 

"True  for  you,  Tessie,"  agreed  Neale.  "I  am 
in  an  infinitesimal  minority." 

Dot's  eyes  opened  wide  as  these  long  words 
sounded  from  the  boy's  lips,  and  she  gulped  just 
as  though  she  were  swallowing  them  down  for 
digestion.  Agnes'  eyes  twinkled  as  she  asked  the 
smallest  girl: 

"Did  you  get  those  two,  honey?" 

"Don't  make  fun  of  her,"  admonished  Ruth, 
aside. 

"Well,"  sighed  Dot,  soberly,  "I  do  hope  I'll 
get  into  big  words  in  the  reading  book  this  next 
term.  I  love  'em.  Why!  Tess  is  awfully  far 
ahead  of  me;  she  can  spell  words  in  four  cylin- 
ders I '  * 

And  that  closed  the  evening  meal  with  a  round 
of  laughter  that  Dot  did  not  understand. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   SHBPAEDS 

**JusT  think!''  Agnes  said  to  Ruth.  "For  the 
first  time  since  we  came  to  live  at  the  old  Comer 
Honse  and  call  it  onr  owniest  own,  we  are  going 
to  have  real  visitors.  Oh,  dear,  me,  Rnth,  I  wish 
we  conld  have  week-end  parties,  and  dances,  and 
all  sorts  of  society  things.    I  do!" 

** Mercy,  Agnes!  And  you  with  your  hair  in 
plaits?" 

** Whose  fault  is  that,  I'd  like  to  know,"  re- 
sponded the  beauty  a  bit  sharply.  **I'm  the  only 
girl  in  my  set  who  doesn't  put  her  hair  up.  Myra 
Stetson  has  worn  hers  up  for  a  year — " 

**She  keeps  house  for  her  father  and  has  not 
attended  school  for  six  months,"  Ruth  reminded 
her. 

**Well,  Eva  Larry  -puts  hers  up  when  her 
mother  has  company.    And  Pearl  Howard — " 

**  Never  mind  the  catalog  of  your  friends, 
dear,"  put  in  Ruth,  quietly.  **We  know  you  are 
a  much  abused  little  girl.  But  your  hair  in  plaits 
you'd  better  wear  for  a  while  yet. 

**A8  for  week-end  parties  and  the  like,  I  will 
speak  to  Mr.  Howbridge  and  perhaps  we  can 
give  some  parties  this  winter." 

49 


50     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

*  *  With  the  kids  in  them  I ' '  grumbled  Agnes.  "I 
want  real  grown-up  parties." 

**Let  us  wait  till  we  are  really  grown  up  for 
them,"  and  the  elder  sister  laughed. 

** Goodness!  you  are  grown  up  enough,  Ruth 
Kenway,"  Agnes  declared.  **You  might  be  mar- 
ried at  your  age.    Mrs.  Mac  says  she  was." 

**Hush!"  exclaimed  Ruth,  almost  shocked  by 
such  a  suggestion.  *'You  do  get  the  most  pecul- 
iar ideas  in  your  head,  Aggie." 

** There's  nothing  peculiar  about  marrying," 
said  the  other  girl  saucily.  **I'm  sure  every- 
body's 'doing  it.'  It's  quite  the  proper  thing. 
You  know,  as  the  smallest  member  of  the  cate- 
chism class  replied  to  the  question:  'What  is  the 
chief  end  of  woman?'  'Marriage!*  And  'tis, 
too,"  concluded  the  positive  A^es. 

"Do  talk  sensibly.  But  to  return.  Cecile  and 
her  brother  visiting  us  is  really  the  first  time 
we'll  have  entertained  guests — save  Mrs.  Treble 
and—" 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Trouble  and  Double  Trouble,  or 
Bamabetta  Scruggs  and  her  father,  don't  count," 
Agnes  hastened  to  say.  *^They  were  only  people 
we  took  in.  But  the  Shepards  are  real  guests. 
And  I'm  so  glad  you  decided  upon  giving  them 
two  of  the  big  front  rooms,  Ruthie.  Those  guest 
rooms  that  Uncle  Peter  had  shut  up  for  so  many 
years  are  just  beautiful.  There  aren't  such  great 
rooms,  or  such  splendid  old  furniture  in  Milton, 
as  we  have." 


The  Shepards  51 

**We  have  much  to  be  thankful  for,"  said  Ruth 
placidly. 

** We've  a  lot  to  be  proud  of,"  amended  Agnes. 
"And  our  auto!  My!  Think  of  us  poor  little 
miserable  Kenways  cutting  such  a  dash." 

"And  yet  you  were  just  now  longing  for  more 
nice  things,"  pointed  out  Ruth. 

"That's  my  fatal  ambition,"  sighed  her  sister. 
"I  am  a  female — No!  A  feline — as  Tess  says 
— Napoleon.  I  long  for  more  worlds  to  conquer 
like  Alexander.  I  dream  of  great  things  like  Sir 
Humphrey  Davy  and  Newton.    I — '* 

"Do  be  feminine  in  your  comparisons,  if  not 
feline,"  suggested  Ruth,  laughing.  "Speak  of 
great  women,  not  of  great  men." 

"Oh,  indeed!  Why,  pray?  Boadicea?  Queen 
Elizabeth?    Joan  of  Arc — " 

"Oh  I  know  who  she  was,"  declared  Dot,  who 
had  been  listening,  open-eyed  and  open-mouthed, 
to  this  harangue  of  the  volatile  sister.  "She  was 
Noah's  wife — and  he  built  a  big  boat,  and  put 
horses  and  bears  and  pigs  and  goats  on  it  so  they 
wouldn't  be  drowned — and  dogs  and  cats.  And 
they  were  fruitful  and  multiplied  and  filled  the 
earth — " 

"Oh,  oh,  oh!"  shrieked  Agnes.  "Tliat  child 
will  be  the  death  of  me !  Where  does  she  pick  up 
her  knowledge  of  scriptural  history?" 

"I  guess,"  said  Ruth,  kissing  the  pouting  lips 
of  Dot,  who  did  not  always  take  kindly  to  being 
laughed  at,  "that  our  old  Sandy  face  must  have 


52     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

been  one  of  those  cats  Noah  had.  She  has  found 
four  more  Httle  blind  kittens  somewhere.  And 
what  we  shall  do  about  it,  1  do  not  know.*' 

Dot  and  Tess  ran  squealing  to  the  shed  to  see 
the  new  members  of  the  Comer  House  family, 
while  Neale  said,  chuckling: 

"It's  a  regular  catastrophe,  isn't  it?  Better 
fill  the  motor  car  with  feline  creatures  and  let 
Aggie  and  me  chase  around  through  the  country, 
dropping  cats  at  farmers'  bams." 

"Never!"  proclaimed  Agnes.  "We  mean  to 
keep  on  good  terms  with  all  the  farmers  about 
Milton.  We  can't  have  them  coming  out  and 
stopping  ns  when  we  go  by  and  demanding  pay 
for  all  the  hens  you  run  over,  Neale  O'Neil." 

"Never  yet  ran  over  but  one  hen,"  declared  the 
boy  quickly.  "And  she  was  an  old  cluck  hen — 
the  farmer  said  so.  He  thought  he  really  ought 
to  pay  me  for  killing  her.  And  she  made  soup 
at  that." 

"Come,  come,  come,  children!"  admonished 
Euth.  "Let  us  get  out  the  books  and  see  if  we 
have  quite  forgotten  everything  we  ever  knew." 

They  gathered  around  the  sitting-room  lamp, 
Sammy  Pinkney  having  appeared.  Mrs.  MacCall 
joined  them  with  her  mending,  as  she  loved  to  do 
in  the  evenings.  And  the  Comer  House  study 
hour  was  inaugurated  for  the  fall  with  appro- 
priate ceremonies  of  baked  apples  on  the  stove 
and  a  heaping  plate  of  popcorn  in  the  middle  of 
the  table. 


The  Shepards  53 

**I  can  study  so  mnch  better  when  I'm  chewing 
something,"  Agnes  admitted. 

Dot  was  soon  nodding  and  Mrs.  MacCall  from 
her  low  rocking  chair  observed: 

'*I  think  little  folks  had  better  go  to  bed  with 
the  chickens — eh,  my  lassie!  " 

**No,  Mrs.  Mac;  I  don't  want  to,"  complained 
the  sleepy  Dot.     **I've  got  a  bed  of  my  own." 

**I'll  go  with  her,"  said  Tess,  knowing  that  her 
little  sister  did  not  like  to  retire  alone,  even  if  she 
might  object  to  the  company  of  chickens. 

Eeally,  none  of  them  studied  much  on  this 
evening;  but  they  had  a  happy  time.  All,  pos- 
sibly, save  Sammy.  The  thought  of  going  to 
school  once  again  made  that  embryo  pirate  very 
despondent. 

**  'Tain't  that  I  wouldn't  like  to  go  with  the 
fellers,  and  play  at  recess,  and  hear  the  organ 
play  in  the  big  hall,  and  spin  tops  on  the  base- 
ment play-room  floor,  and  all  that,*'  grumbled 
Sammy.  "But  they  do  try  to  learn  us  such  per- 
fectly silly  things." 

**What  silly  things?"  demanded  Agnes  with 
amusement. 

'*Why,  all  'bout  'rithmetic.  Huh  I  Can't  a 
feller  count  on  his  fingers  ?  What  were  they  given 
us  for,  I'd  like  to  know!"  demanded  this  youthful 
philosopher. 

*'0w!  owt"  murmured  Neale,  vastly  amused. 

*  *  Huh  I ' '  went  on  Sammy.  *  *  Last  teacher  I  had 
— mine  and  Tessie's — ^was  all  the  time  learning 


54    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

us  maxims,  and  what  things  meant;  hke  love,  and 
charity  and  happiness.  She  was  so  silly,  she 
was! 

**That  Iky  Ooronofsky  is  the  thick  one,"  added 
Sammy,  with  a  grin  of  recollection.  *'Wlien  she 
was  trying  to  make  us  kids  understand  the  differ- 
ence between  the  meaning  of  those  three  words 
ho  couldn't  get  it  into  his  head.  So  she  gave  him 
three  buttons,  one  for  love,  one  for  charity  and 
one  for  happiness,  and  made  him  take  *em  home 
to  study." 

"What  did  he  do  with  them!"  asked  Neale,  in- 
terested. 

**Wliy,  when  she  asked  Iky  the  next  time  about 
love,  charity  and  happiness,  he  didn't  know  any 
more  than  he  did  before,"  said  Sammy,  with  dis- 
gust. *  Where's  your  buttons,  Iky?'  she  asks  him, 
and  Iky  hauls  out  two  of  'em. 

**  'There's  love.  Miss  Shipman,  and  there's 
charity,'  says  Iky,  *but  my  mother  sewed  hap- 
piness on  my  waist  this  morning.'  Did  you  ever 
hear  of  such  a  dunce  as  that  kid?"  concluded 
Sammy,  with  disgust. 

Sunday  was  always  a  busy  day,  if  a  quiet  one, 
at  the  old  Corner  House.  Everything  had  been 
done  to  prepare  for  the  expected  guests ;  but  sev- 
eral times  Agnes  had  to  enter  the  two  big  rooms 
which  were  to  be  devoted  to  the  use  of  Cecile 
Shepard  and  her  brother,  just  for  the  sake  of 
making  sure  that  all  was  right  and  ready. 

In  just  what  style  the  Shepards  lived  Agnes  did 


The  Shepards  55 

not  know.  That  they  were  very  well-mannered 
and  were  plainly  used  to  what  is  really  essential 
to  cultivated  people,  the  Comer  House  girls  were 
sure. 

The  visitors  were  not  wealthy,  however;  far 
from  it.  They  had  but  a  single  relative — a 
maiden  aunt — and  with  her  they  made  their  home 
when  they  were  not  at  school  or  off  on  peddling 
trips  with  a  van  and  team  of  horses. 

Cecile  and  Luke  arrived  before  noon  on  Mon- 
day. Neale  drove  Ruth  and  Agnes  down  to  the 
station  in  the  car  to  meet  the  visitors. 

"Oh,  this  is  just  scrumptious!"  the  second  sis- 
ter declared,  with  a  sigh.  **To  think  that  the 
Kenways  would  ever  arrive  at  the  point  where 
they  can  drive  to  the  station  in  their  own  car  for 
guests — " 

**0h,  squash!'*  ejaculated  Neale,  with  disgust. 
** She's  getting  to  be  what  Uncle  Rufus  calls 
uppity.  There'll  be  no  living  in  the  same  town 
with  my  Lady  pretty  soon." 

**It  is  all  right,"  Ruth  said  seriously,  for  she 
did  not  approve  of  Neale  any  more  than  she  could 
help — that  was  not  her  policy  with  boys.  **It  is 
perfectly  proper  to  be  glad  that  our  circumstances 
have  improved." 

**0h,  crick ey I"  snorted  Neale.  **You  girls 
have  got  up  in  the  world,  that's  a  fact.  But  I've 
come  down.  Uncle  Bill  Sorber  wanted  me  to  be 
a  ground  and  lofty  tumbler." 

The  sisters  laughed,  and  what  might  have  been 


56    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

a  bit  of  friction  was  escaped.  Even  Ruth  had  to 
admit  that  the  ex-circus  boy  was  the  best-natured 
person  they  knew. 

Well,  the  Shepards  arrived.  Cecile  and  Luke 
were  just  as  glad  to  see  Neale  as  they  were  to  see 
the  Corner  House  girls. 

Luke,  sitting  in  the  seat  beside  Neale  on  the 
way  up  town,  whispered  to  him:  "Isn't  she 
sweeter  than  ever?  I  declare!  I  never  knew  so 
nice  a  girl." 

"Huh?"  grunted  Neale,  and  glared  at  his  com- 
panion for  a  moment,  forgetting  that  a  chauffeur 
should  keep  both  eyes  on  his  business  when  run- 
ning a  car  in  a  crowded  street. 

"Say!  were  you  trying  to  climb  into  that  coal 
cart  or  only  fooling?"  gasped  Luke,  wlio  although 
several  years  older  than  Neale  had  none  of  his 
experience  as  an  automobile  driver. 

"Wliat  did  you  say?"  asked  Neale,  with  his 
eyes  looking  ahead  again. 

"Were  you  trying  to  get  into  that  coal  cart 
or—" 

*  *  Aw,  no !    About  Aggie  Kenway.  * ' 

"Why — ^why  I  didn't  say  anything  about  her,'* 
Luke  replied.  " Oh !  I  spoke  of  Miss  Ruth.  Isn't 
she  a  splendid  girl?" 

"Oh!  Yes!  Ruth!  Some!"  was  the  way 
Neale  agreed  with  this  statement  of  the  visitor. 


CHAPTEE  VI 

NAMING   THE   NEW   BABY 

Luke  Shepabd  was  a  very  friendly  person  who 
was  bound  to  make  himself  beloved  by  the  entire 
Comer  House  family.  Unless,  perhaps,  Aunt 
Sarah  Maltby  refused  to  melt  before  the  sunshine 
of  his  smile.  He  was  a  handsome  fellow,  too — 
curly  brown  hair,  a  good  brown  and  red  com- 
plexion, well  chiseled  features,  brown  eyes  set 
wide  apart,  and  lips  that  laughed  above  a  well 
molded  and  firm-looking  chin. 

Cecile  was  his  antithesis — sprightly  and  small- 
framed,  roguish  of  look  and  behavior,  without 
an  iota  of  hoidenishness  about  her.  She  was  in- 
ordinately fond  of  her  brother,  and  she  could  not 
understand  how  the  Comer  House  girls  had  man- 
aged to  get  on  so  many  years  without  one  boy,  at 
least,  in  the  family. 

"Of  course,  you've  got  Neale,'*  she  said  to  Ruth 
and  Agnes  after  they  had  reached  the  house. 

**And  there's  Sammy  Pinkney,"  Tess  put  in 
gravely.  **I'm  sure  he's  quite  as  much  trouble  to 
us  as  a  real  brother  could  be. ' ' 

At  this  there  was  a  burst  of  uncontrollable 
laughter. 

The  little  girls  were  fond  of  Luke  Shepard, 
however.    He  had  been  very  nice  to  them  on 

67 


58    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

that  adventurous  occasion  when  they  had  met  him 
and  his  sister  on  the  automobile  tour;  and  on 
coming  to  the  old  Comer  House  for  this  visit  he 
had  not  forgotten  Tess  and  Dot.  To  the  former 
he  had  brought  a  lovely,  imaginative,  beautifully 
bound  story  book,  **full  of  gods  and  gondolas,'* 
Dot  said  with  awe. 

To  Dot  herself  he  most  tactfully  presented  a 
doll.  Not  a  doll  to  take  the  place  in  any  way 
of  the  beloved  Alice-doll.  No.  Luke  was  too 
wise  a  youth  for  that.  But  it  was  a  new  baby 
nevertheless  that  Dot  was  bound  to  be  proud  of. 

**0h,"  cried  Tess,  **a  boy  baby,  Dot  I  And  you 
never  had  a  real  boy  baby  before ! ' ' 

**0r  such  a  nice  looking  one,  at  any  rate," 
Agnes  suggested. 

Dot,  smiling  *'big,'*  clasped  the  manly  looking 
little  manikin  in  its  neat  sailor  suit  and  cap.  She 
really  was  too  pleased  for  speech  for  a  minute 
or  two.    Then  she  said: 

"I'm  real  glad  you  came  to  see  us,  Mr.  Luke. 
I  was  glad  before.    Now  I'm  glad  twice.*' 

**You  can't  beat  that  kid,"  said  Neale  admir- 
ingly. 

But  the  arrival  of  the  new  doll-baby  put  upon 
the  smaller  Corner  House  girls — especially  upon 
Dot — a  duty  that  was  always  taken  seriously. 
The  naming  of  either  new  dolls  or  new  pets 
usually  needed  the  heedful  attention  of  the  entire 
Corner  House  family. 

The   children   of   Sandyface,   and  her  grand- 


Naming  the  New  Baby  59 

children,  were  usually  an  enormous  care  upon  the 
little  girls  in  this  way.  To  name  so  many  cats, 
and  name  them  appropriately,  had  been  in  the 
past  a  matter  of  no  little  moment. 

Now  that  Sandyface  had  found  four  more  eye- 
less, mewing  little  mites,  only  the  coming  of  the 
sailor-baby,  as  Dot  called  Luke  Shepard's 
present,  made  the  two  little  girls  agree  to  Neale's 
suggestion  regarding  the  naming  of  the  new 
kittens. 

They  were  christened  briefly  and  succinctly: 
"One,  Two,  Three  and  Four.'' 

**For  we  really  are  too  busy,  and  company  in 
the  house,  too,"  said  Tess  earnestly,  **to  worry 
over  Sandyface 's  new  family.  She  might  have 
waited  until  some  other  time  to  find  those 
kittens." 

On  that  first  evening  of  the  Shepards'  visit 
there  was  much  ado  about  the  name  for  the  baby. 
The  whole  family  took  more  or  less  interest  in  it, 
and  suggestions  galore  were  showered  upon  the 
anxious  young  mother  regarding  the  sailor-baby. 

Neale  suggested  that  a  ballot-box  be  arranged 
and  that  everybody  write  his  suggestions  upon 
slips  of  paper  and  deposit  them  in  the  box.  Then 
Dot  might  be  allowed  to  put  in  her  hand,  mix  up 
the  slips,  and  draw  one.  That  name  must  be  the 
sailor-baby's  cognomen. 

But  there  was  too  great  a  hazard  in  this  to 
attract  the  smallest  Corner  House  girl;  for  Aunt 
Sarah  had  already  gravely  suggested  ZerubbabeL 


60     The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**And  suppose,"  Dot  whispered,  **she  should 
write  that  on  a  paper  (do  you  s'pose  such  an  ugly 
name  can  be  spelled?)  and  I  should  draw  that 
out  first  thing  I  Why,  a  name  like  that  would — 
would  make  an  invalid  of  the  poor  child  all  his 
life!" 

Therefore  when,  on  Tuesday,  the  Corner  House 
girls  and  their  guests  went  for  a  ride  in  the  auto- 
mobile, the  momentous  decision  regarding  the  new 
baby's  name  was  still  to  be  made. 

There  was  no  room  for  Sammy  in  the  car  on 
this  occasion,  and  he  was  left  behind  to  seek  his 
own  amusement  with  the  aerial  tramway.  And 
as  matters  turned  out  he  certainly  was  busy  with 
that  arrangement  before  the  automobile  party 
returned. 

However,  even  Tess  forgot  all  things  aerial  in 
the  enjoyment  of  the  ride.  The  car  ran  smoothly, 
the  day  was  fine,  and  not  even  a  ** cluck  hen" 
crossed  their  path.  So  there  was  not  the  small- 
est thing  to  mar  their  pleasure. 

Luke  rode  in  front  with  Neale;  and  the  three 
older  girls  were  so  much  interested  in  their  own 
chatter  that  they  scarcely  thought  of  Tess  and 
Dot.  But  they,  too,  were  exceedingly  busy  with 
their  particular  affairs. 

What  interested  them  most  of  all  through  the 
drive  was  the  naming  of  the  sailor-baby.  Dot  sat 
with  the  Alice-doll  in  her  arms,  of  course ;  but  the 
new  doll  was  hugged  up  very  close  to  her  side 
upon  the  seat. 


Naming  the  New  Baby  61 

"He  is  really  a  very  pretty  doll  for  a  boy  doll," 
Tess  observed.  ''You  really  should  have  a  very 
pretty  name  for  him." 

"I  know,"  agreed  the  anxious  mother.  **But 
all  the  nice  names  seem  to  have  been  used  up. 
Wha — what  do  you  think  of  *Brandywuie,' 
Tessie?" 

''Goodness!  The  name  of  that  avenue  we  just 
passed?  Why,  Dot!"  ejaculated  the  horrified 
older  sister.  "That's  a  nawful  name!  And 
we're  temp 'ranee." 

"Yes.  It  is  kind  of  liquorish,  I  s'pose,"  ad- 
mitted Dot.  "But  it  sounds  different.  Tom, 
and  Edgar,  and  Wilfred,  and  Feodor,  and  St. 
John,  and  Clarence,  and  Montmorency,  and 
Peter,  and  Henry,  and  Vanscombe,  and  Michael, 
and  all  those  others,  have  been  used  over  and 
over  again  in  naming  babies,"  Dot  said  with  seri- 
ousness. "You  know  we've  heard  of  somebody, 
or  know  somebody,  named  by  all  of  those  names. 
Oh,  Tess!"  she  ejaculated  suddenly,  "look 
there!" 

The  automobile  party  were  just  passing  Mr. 
Stout's  big  tobacco  barn.  One  leaf  of  the  main 
door  was  open  and  hooked  back  and  Dot  was 
pointing  eagerly  to  some  large  black  letters 
painted  upon  the  inside  of  this  door. 

"What  a  pretty  name  that  is!"  she  whispered 
to  Tess,  excitedly.  "'Nosmo'l  Did  you  ever 
hear  of  it  before?" 

"No-o,  Dottie,  I  never  did,"  her  sister  agreed 


62    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

slowly.  **  *Nosmo*  sounds  kind  of  funny,  doesn't 
itt    I — ^I  never  heard  of  a  boy  called  that." 

**Well,  Tess  Kenway!"  cried  her  little  sister 
indignantly,  *' isn't  that  just  what  we  want?  A 
boy's  name  that  hasn't  ever  been  used  on  a  boy 
before?" 

** That's  so,  Dottie,"  agreed  the  more  cautious 
Tess.  **That  is  so.  No  boy  has  had  it  and 
spoiled  it  by  being  bad."  Tess'  opinion  of  tbe 
genus  boy  was  governed  largely  by  the  attitude 
Euth  seemed  to  hold  toward  all  boyhood. 

''It's  brand  new,"  declared  Dot,  christening 
the  sailor-baby  on  the  spot,  and  without  bell, 
book,  or  candle.  "Nosmo  Kenway.  Isn't  that 
nice?  He's  so  cute,  too!"  and  she  seized  the  new 
doll  and  pressed  her  red  lips  to  the  sailor-boy's 
highly  flushed  cheek. 

**Nosmo  Kenway,"  murmured  Tess. 
** Oughtn't    he    to    have    a    middle    name?" 

**0h,  well,"  said  Dot.  ''We  can  give  him  that 
afterward — if  we  find  a  good  one.  But  middle 
names  don't  really  count,  after  all." 

The  merry  party  of  automobilists  ran  out  as 
far  as  Mr.  Bob  Buckham's — the  strawberry  man, 
as  they  called  him — a  very  good  friend  of  theirs. 
Mrs.  Buckham  was  confined  to  her  chair  and  the 
Corner  House  girls  always  took  her  flowers  or 
something  nice  when  they  called  at  the  farm- 
house. 

The  Kenwavs  and  Neale  went  in  to  see  the 


Naming  the  New  Baby  63 

invalid  for  a  minute,  leaving  Cecile  and  Luke 
Shepard  alone  in  the  car.  The  keen-eyed  girl 
suddenly  leaned  forward  and  tapped  her  brother 
on  the  arm. 

**Hul-lo!"  he  said,  waking  from  a  day-dream. 

"Penny  for  your  thoughts,  Luke?"  she  sug- 
gested. 

** Worth  more  than  that,  Sis." 

"I  know.  They  were  about  Ruth  Kenway," 
and  Cecile  laughed,  although  her  eyes  were 
anxious. 

**  Witch  I"  exclaimed  Luke,  flushing  a  little. 

** Beware,  young  man!"  his  sister  said,  shak- 
ing an  admonitory  finger. 

'* Beware  of  the  dog?"  queried  Luke  with  a 
smile. 

**  Just  so.  Boy.  There  is  a  dog.  A  big  one  in 
the  path." 

"Why,  Sis,  I  don't  believe  Ruth  Kenway  has 
ever  even  thought  of  a  boy — " 

"As  you  are  thinking  of  her?"  his  sister  broke 
in  softly.  "No.  I  think  she  is  perfectly  'heart 
whole  and  fancy  free.*  And  so  ought  you  to  be. 
Luke." 

"Well,  she's  such  a  sweet  girl,"  he  declared, 
his  eyes  shining. 

"She  certainly  is." 

"Then  what  have  you  against  my — ^my  liking 
her?" 

"There  is  nothing  I'd  like  better  in  this  world, 


64    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Luke,"  his  sister  declared  earnestly,  ^'than  to  see 
you  happy  in  the  friendship  of  such  a  girl  as 
Euth." 

**Then— " 

"Kemember  Neighbor,*'  Cecile  said,  earnestly. 

**0h,  bother  Neighbor!"  muttered  Luke. 

**No.  You  would  not  like  to  see  him  bothered. 
And  he  is  a  very  good  friend  of  yours.  He  can 
and  will  help  you  get  a  start  in  the  world  after 
you  have  finished  at  college.  His  aid  may  mean 
ten  years'  advantage  to  you." 

*^Do  you  suppose  I  care  what  Neighbor  does 
with  his  money?"  demanded  Luke,  hotly. 

**No.  Not  for  just  what  the  money  would 
bring  you,"  she  agreed.  **But  think!  What 
have  you  to  offer  Ruth  Kenway  if  you  should 
come  to  the  point  where  you  might  ask  her 
to  engage  herself  to  you?  We're  just  as  poor  as 
Job's  turkey  after  it  was  picked  to  the  bones!" 

**I  know  it.  Sis,"  groaned  the  young  fellow. 

"And  without  Neighbor's  help  you  may  have 
a  long  and  hard  struggle  getting  anywhere," 
Cecile  said  gravely. 

**Too  true,  Sis." 

"Well— then— " 

The  Kenways  and  Neale  O'Neil  reappeared. 
The  visiting  brother  fell  silent.  Luke  Shepard 
scarcely  had  a  word  to  say  during  the  remainder 
of  the  automobile  ride. 


CHAPTER  Vn 

A  FELINE   FUROR 

Returning  to  town,  the  automobile  party 
passed  Stout's  tobacco  bam  again  and  when  it 
came  in  sight  Dot  eagerly  began  to  explain  to 
the  older  girls  how  and  where  she  had  found  a 
name  for  the  sailor-baby  that  Luke  Shepard  had 
given  her. 

**That  is  a  real  pretty  name  I  think,'*  said 
Ruth,  absently.    **And  quite  new  I  am  sure." 

Agnes  demanded  again  where  the  smallest 
Comer  House  girl  had  seen  the  name,  *Nosmo' 
painted.  **Why!"  she  exclaimed,  "it  says 
*king' — that's  what  is  painted  on  that  door, 
children. ' ' 

**0h,  but,  Sister!"  exclaimed  Tess.  ''That  is 
the  other  half  of  the  big  door.  They've  shut  the 
half  that  was  open  when  we  rode  along  before 
and  opened  the  other  one."  But  Agnes  was  not 
listening  to  this  explanation.  She  had  turned 
back  to  Ruth  and  Cecile. 

Dot  was  eagerly  repeating  something  over  and 
over  to  herself.  Tess  turned  to  demand  what  it 
was. 

**0h,  Tessie!"  the  smallest  Comer  House  girl 
cried,  "that  sounds  b-e-a-u-ti-ful!" 

66 


66    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**What  does?"  demanded  her  sister. 

**IVe  just  the  nicest  middle  name  for  this 
sailor-bahy,"  and  she  hugged  her  new  possession 
again. 

**What  is  it?"  asked  the  interested  Tess. 

"Nosmo  King  Kenway.  Isn't  that  nice?" 
eagerly  cried  the  little  girl.  **It's — it's  so  Aristo- 
cratic.   Don't  you  think  so,  Tess?" 

Tess  repeated  the  full  name,  too.  It  did  sound 
rather  nice.  The  oftener  you  said  it  the  better 
it  sounded.  And — ^yet — there  was  something  a 
wee  bit  peculiar  about  it.  But  Tess  was  too  kind- 
hearted  to  suggest  anything  wrong  with  the  name, 
as  long  as  Dot  liked  it  so  much.  And  she  had 
found  it  all  her  very  own  self! 

**I  wonder  what  Sammy  will  say  to  that/*  mur- 
mured Dot  placidly.  **I  guess  he'll  think  it  is  a 
nice  name,  won't  he?" 

"Well,  if  he  doesn't  it  won't  make  any  differ- 
ence," Tess  said  loftily. 

Just  at  that  time,  however,  (though  quite  un- 
suspected by  the  Comer  House  girls)  Sammy 
Pinkney  had  his  mind  quite  filled  with  other  and 
more  important  matters. 

Since  his  long  illness  in  the  spring  Sammy  had 
remained  something  of  a  stranger  to  his  old-time 
boy  friends.  Of  course,  as  soon  as  he  got  into 
school  again  and  associated  with  the  boys  of  his 
own  class  once  more,  he  would  get  back  into  the 
**gang"  as  he  called  it.  He  was  not  a  boy  to  be 
gibed  because  he  played  with  girls  so  much. 


A  Feline  Furor  67 

However,  habit  brought  him  to  the  side  gate 
of  the  Corner  House  on  this  afternoon,  whether 
the  little  girls  were  at  home  or  not.  He  was 
so  often  in  and  out  of  the  house  that  neither  Mrs. 
MacCall  nor  Linda  paid  much  attention  to  him; 
for  although  Sammy  Pinkney  was  as  *'full  of 
mischief  as  a  chestnut  is  of  meat"  (to  quote  Mrs. 
MacCall)  he  never  touched  anything  about  the 
house  that  was  not  his,  nor  wandered  into  the 
rooms  upstairs,  save  the  one  from  the  window 
of  which  the  aerial  tramway  was  strung  to  the 
window  of  his  own  bedroom  *'scatecomered'* 
across  Willow  Street. 

His  aim  was  the  window  of  the  little  girls'  big 
playing  and  sleeping  room  now,  for  the  wire 
basket  chanced  to  be  fastened  at  this  end  of  the 
line.  He  had  it  in  his  mind  to  pull  the  basket 
over  to  his  own  house,  fill  it  there  with  some  sort 
of  cargo,  and  draw  it  back  and  forth,  amusing 
himself  by  imagining  that  he  was  loading  a  ship 
from  the  dock. 

**0r,  maybe,"  Sammy  ruminated,  **I'll  have 
the  old  ship  wrecked,  and  the  lifesavers  will  put 
out  the  life  buoy;  and  we'll  bring  the  passengers 
ashore.  Crickey!  that'll  be  just  the  thing.  I'll 
save  'em  all  from  drownin' — that's  what  I'll  do!" 

Then  he  looked  about  in  some  anxiety  for  the 
wrecked  passengers  of  the  foundered  steamship 
which  he  immediately  imagined  was  cast  on  the 
reef  just  about  as  far  from  the  Comer  House  as 
his  own  domicile  stood. 


68    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**Got  to  have  passengers!''  cried  Sammy. 
"Oh,  crickey!  the  dolls  would  be  just  the  thing. 
But  I  promised  I  wouldn't  touch  them.  Aw, 
pshaw!  a  feller  can't  have  much  fun  after  all 
where  there's  a  lot  of  girls  around." 

Not  that  the  girls  were  here  to  bother  Sammy 
Pinkney  now;  but  he  felt  the  oppressive  effect  of 
Dot's  mandatory  decree. 

"If  a  fellow  had  forty  dolls  he  wouldn't  be 
afraid  to  give  them  a  ride  on  this  aerial  tram- 
way!" 

Wandering  downstairs  again  and  out  upon  the 
side  porch  he  found  Sandyface  lying  in  the  sun, 
but  within  sight  and  hearing  of  the  four  new 
blind  babies  which  were  nested  upon  Uncle  Eufus ' 
old  coat  just  within  the  shed  door. 

"Je-ru-sa-?em.'"  gasped  Sammy,  his  eyes  big 
with  a  sudden  idea. 

He  knelt  down  beside  the  little  soft  balls  of  fur, 
and  Sandyface  came  to  rub  around  him  and  wor- 
ship likewise.  But  she  had  no  idea  of  the  thought 
that  ran  riot  in  Sammy's  head. 

*  *  Say !  they  'd  never  know  they  was  disturbed, ' ' 
muttered  the  boy. 

He  gathered  up  the  old  coat,  with  the  four 
little  mites  in  it,  and  started  stealthily  for  the 
back  stairs.  Sandyface,  not  at  all  disturbed  in 
her  mind,  followed,  purring,  but  with  no  inten- 
tion of  quite  losing  sight  of  her  babies.  The 
little  girls  were  in  the  habit  of  carrying  her 


A  Feline  Furor  69 

progeny  all  about  the  place  and  always  brought 
them  back  in  safety. 

Sammy  stole  up  the  stairs  on  tiptoe.  He  knew 
very  well  he  was  up  to  mischief  and  he  did  not 
wish  to  meet  Mrs.  MacCall,  or  even  Linda.  For 
the  Finnish  girl  who  helped  the  housekeeper  had 
her  private  opinion  of  Sammy  Pinkney — and 
often  expressed  it  publicly. 

**If  I  haf  a  boy  brudder  like  him,  I  sew  him  up 
in  a  bag — oh,  yes  I'*  was  one  of  the  mildest  threats 
that  Linda  ever  made  regarding  Sammy. 

Sammy  pushed  up  the  screen  and  placed  the 
coat,  with  the  four  kittens  asleep  on  it,  carefully 
in  the  deep  wire  basket.  Sandyface,  interested, 
leaped  upon  the  window  sill,  and  smelled  of  the 
kittens  and  the  basket.  Then  she  craned  her  neck 
to  look  down  to  the  ground. 

** You'd  better  not  jump,  cat,"  warned  Sammy, 
unfastening  the  rope  that  ran  through  blocks  at 
both  ends  and  so  enabled  one  to  pull  the  basket 
back  and  forth.    *  *  It 's  a  long  way  to  the  ground.  *  * 

Sandyface  had  no  such  silly  idea  in  her  wise 
old  head.  As  Sammy  turned  away  for  a  moment 
she  stepped  gingerly  into  the  basket,  moved  the 
squirming  kittens  over,  and  settled  down  to  nurse 
them.  A  little  thing  like  being  twenty  feet  or  so 
up  in  the  air  with  her  babies  did  not  disturb 
Sandyface — much. 

**Hey,  you!"  exclaimed  Sammy,  grabbing  the 
old  cat  away  before  the  snufl3ing  little  kittens  had 


70    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

really  found  she  was  with  them.  "Can't  take 
the  whole  crew  and  all  the  passengers  off  the 
wreck  at  once.  You'll  overload  the  lifecar. 
Scat!"  and  he  put  her  down  upon  the  floor. 

But  the  kittens  began  to  whine  now;  they  were 
being  cheated,  they  thought,  and  they  desired 
their  mother  very  much.  Sandyface  replied  to 
them  and  jumped  upon  the  window  sill  again. 

**Hey!"  Sammy  said,  "didn't  I  tell  you  to  wait 
till  the  next  load!    Aw!  look  at  that  cat!" 

For  the  mother  cat  had  stepped  into  the  basket 
again,  purring,  and  once  more  settled  down. 

"All  right,  then,"  ejaculated  Sammy  in  dis- 
gust, "if  you're  bound  to  go  along!  But  don't 
blame  me  if  you're  so  heavy  that  the  old  carrier 
busts." 

He  carefully  drew  the  basket  out  upon  the 
wire,  away  from  the  house.  Sandyface  lifted  her 
head;  but  as  she  was  very  comfortable  and  had 
her  family  with  her,  she  made  no  great  objection 
as  the  basket  swung  out  into  space. 

"Je-ru-sa-?em/"  gasped  Sammy,  with  fearful 
joy.  "Bet  that  old  basket  would  hold  all  the 
other  cats  too.  Wish  I  had  the  bunch  of  'em — 
Spotty,  and  Almira,  and  Popocatepetl,  and 
Bungle,  and  Starboard,  Port,  Hard-a-Lee  and 
Main-sheet!  And  Almira 's  got  four  kittens  of 
her  own  somewhere.  And  so's  Popocatepetl. 
Whew!  that  makes — ^makes — " 

But  Sammy  did  not  like  arithmetic  enough 


A  Feline  Furor  71 

to  figure  up  this  sum ;  and  he  did  not  seem  to  have 
fingers  enough  just  then  to  count  them.  So  he 
gave  it  up.  A  cat  and  four  kittens  swinging  out 
over  Willow  Street,  with  all  the  winds  of  heaven 
blowing  about  them,  should  have  satisfied  even 
Sammy  Pinkney. 

The  boy  pulled  the  basket  cautiously  to  the 
extreme  end  of  the  wire — until  the  carrier 
bumped  against  the  clapboards  under  his  own 
bedroom  window.  He  saw  Sandyface  raise  her 
head  again  and  glare  around.  Half  asleep  until 
this  time  she  had  not  realized  that  she  and  her 
babies  were  being  so  marvelously  transported 
from  their  own  home  to  the  cottage  where  Sammy 
resided. 

**Crickey!**  exclaimed  the  boy  suddenly.  **If 
mother  comes  out  and  sees  'em — or  if  that  there 
bulldog  Buster  hears  those  cats  meowing,  there'll 
be  trouble  over  there." 

He  started  anxiously  to  draw  the  cats  and  the 
carrier  back  to  the  Comer  House.  In  some  way 
the  line  by  which  he  drew  the  basket  became 
fouled  at  the  other  end ;  or  the  pulleys  on  the  wire 
became  chocked.  Sammy  could  not  tell  just  what 
the  trouble  was,  anyway. 

But  to  his  dismay  the  basket  stuck  midway 
of  the  line.  High  over  the  middle  of  Willow 
Street  it  stopped,  and  Sandyface  was  now  stand- 
ing up  and  telling  the  neighborhood  just  how 
scared  she  felt  for  her  babies  and  herself. 


72    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

"Lie  down,  cat  I"  the  perturbed  Sammy  cried  to 
her.  **You'll  fall  overboard  and  drown — ^I  mean, 
break  your  silly  neck!    S-st!    Lie  down!" 

Tom  Jonah,  the  old  house  dog,  appeared  sud- 
denly below  and  began  to  bark.  Billy  Bumps 
came  galloping  around  the  house,  shook  his 
horns  in  disapproval,  and  **bla-ated"  loudly. 

Linda  came  to  the  kitchen  door,  beheld  the 
cat  in  the  basket  high  on  the  wire,  and  seemed 
to  understand  the  cause  of  the  trouble  with  un- 
canny certainty. 

"That  iss  the  Pinkney  boy!"  she  cried.  "If 
he  was  my  brudder — '* 

Mrs.  MacCall,  called  by  the  clatter,  ran  out. 
Aunt  Sarah  Maltby,  even,  appeared  at  the  door, 
while  Uncle  Eufus  limped  up  from  the  hen  houses 
mildly  demanding: 

"What's  done  happen'  to  dem  cats?  Don't  I 
hear  dem  prognosticating  about,  somewhar's!" 

"Sammy  Pinkney!"  cried  Mrs.  MacCall,  the 
first  to  spy  the  boy  at  the  window  of  the  little 
girls'  playroom,  "what  are  you  doing  up  there?" 

"He's  got  the  cat  and  the  kittens  in  that  basket. 
Did  you  evert"  exclaimed  Aunt  Sarah. 

"You  naughty  boy!"  commanded  Mrs.  Mac- 
Call,  "you  pull  that  thing  right  back  here  and 
let  poor  Sandyface  out." 

"I  can't,  Mrs.  MacCall,"  woefully  declared  the 
boy  who  wanted  to  be  a  pirate. 

"Then  pull  it  over  to  your  house,"  said  the 
housekeeper. 


A  Feline  Furor  73 

**I — ^I  can*t  do  that  either,'*  confessed  Sammy. 

"Why  not,  I  should  admire  to  know?"  de- 
manded Aunt  Sarah. 

**^Cause  it's  stuck,"  gloomily  explained 
Sammy.  "I  can't  pull  it  one  way,  nor  yet 
the  other.  Oh,  dear!  I  wish  that  cat  would 
stop  yowling!" 

What  he  feared  happened  at  that  moment.  His 
mother,  hearing  the  commotion  in  the  street  and 
seeing  a  crowd  beginning  to  gather,  ran  out  of 
the  house.  She  was  always  expecting  something 
to  happen  to  Sammy;  and  if  a  crowd  gathered 
anywhere  near  the  house  she  surmised  the  most 
dreadful  peril  for  her  son. 

** Sammy!  Sammy!"  she  shrieked.  **What 
has  become  of  Sammy?" 

**Here  I  am,  Ma,"  replied  Sammy,  with  dis- 
gust. 

** What's  the  matter  with  you?  Come  home 
this  minute!"  commanded  Mrs.  Pinkney,  who  was 
a  rather  near-sighted  woman,  and  having  run 
out  without  her  glasses  she  did  not  spy  her  son 
in  the  window  of  the  Comer  House. 

"I — ^I  can't,"  confessed  the  boy,  rather  shaken. 

At  that  moment  Mrs.  Pinkney  saw  the 
neighbors  pointing  upward,  and  hearing  them 
say:  **See  up  there?  In  the  basket!  The  poor 
thing!"  she  naturally  thought  they  referred  to  the 
peril  of  her  young  son. 

**0h,  Sammy  Pinkney!  But  you  just  wait  till 
your  father  gets  home  to-night!"  she  cried,  try- 


74    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

ing  to  peer  up  at  the  wire.  **I  knew  you*d  get 
into  mischief  with  that  thing  Neale  O'Neil  strung 
up  there.  Whatever  has  the  boy  tried  to  doT 
Walk  tight-rope?" 

*  *  It 's  in  the  basket, ' '  somebody  tried  to  explain 
to  her. 

That  was  too  much  for  the  excitable  Mrs.  Pink- 
ney. 

** He '11  fall  out  of  it!  Of  course  he  will.  And 
break  bis  precious  neck!  Oh,  get  a  blanket  I 
Some  of  you  run  for  the  fire  ladders  I  How  will 
we  get  him  down?" 

She  sat  down  on  the  grass,  threw  her  apron 
over  her  head,  and  refused  to  look  upward  at  the 
wire  carrier  in  which  Sandyface  and  her  kittens 
were  suspended,  and  out  of  which  she  expected 
her  reckless  son  to  fall  at  any  moment. 

It  was  at  this  exciting  moment,  and  into  the 
hubbub  made  by  the  neighbors  and  Sandyface, 
that  the  automobile  party  whizzed  around  the 
comer.  Neale  brought  the  car  to  a  sudden  stop 
and  everybody  screamed. 

**That  Sammy  Pinkney!"  gasped  Toss,  in  de- 
spair.   **I  just  knew  he'd  get  into  something  1" 


'Neale  reached  up  with  a  rake  and  unhooked  the  hangin;^ 
basket" 


CHAPTER  Vm 

NEIGHBOR 

What  with  Mrs.  Pinkney  almost  in  hysterics, 
Tom  Jonah  barking,  the  goat  blatting,  Aunt  Sarah 
scolding,  and  the  neighbors  in  a  general  uproar, 
it  was  scarcely  possible  for  anybody  to  make  him- 
self heard. 

Therefore  Neale  said  nothing.  He  hopped  out 
from  behind  the  steering  wheel  of  the  touring 
car  and  ran  into  the  back  premises,  from  which 
he  dragged  the  tall  fruit-picking  ladder  that  Uncle 
Rufus  had  stowed  away. 

Fortunately  before  any  excited  person  turned 
in  a  fire  alarm,  Neale,  with  the  help  of  Luke 
Shepard  and  Uncle  Rufus,  set  up  the  step-ladder 
directly  under  the  squalling  cat  and  her  kittens. 
From  the  top  step,  on  which  he  perched  precari- 
ously with  Luke  and  the  old  negro  steadying  the 
ladder,  Neale  reached  up  with  a  rake  and  un- 
hooked the  hanging  basket  from  the  tramway. 

It  was  rather  a  delicate  piece  of  work,  and  the 
children  were  scarcely  assured  of  Sandyf ace's 
safety — nor  was  the  old  cat  sure  of  it  herself — 
until  Neale,  hanging  the  basket  on  the  reversed 
garden  rake,  lowered  the  entire  family  to  the 
ground. 

**Sartain  suah  am  glad  to  see  dat  oP  coat  ob* 

75 


76     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

mine  again,"  mumbled  Uncle  Rufus,  as  everybody 
else  was  congratulating  one  another  upon  the 
safety  of  the  cats.  **I  had  a  paper  dollar  tucked 
away  ag'in  some  time  w'en  I'd  need  it,  in  de  in- 
side pocket  of  dat  oV  coat.  It  moughty  near  got 
clean  Vay  f ^om  me,  'cause  of  dat  boy's  foolish- 
ness. Sartain  suah  am  de  baddes'  boy  I  ever 
seen.'* 

The  consensus  of  opinion  seemed  to  follow  the 
bent  of  Uncle  Rufus'  mind.  Sammy  was  in  evil 
repute  in  the  neighborhood  in  any  case;  this  was 
considered  the  cap  sheaf. 

Had  it  not  been  that  the  aerial  tramway  was 
so  securely  affixed  to  the  two  houses,  and  to  take 
it  down  would  be  to  deprive  Tess,  who  was  inno- 
cent, of  some  amusement,  Mrs.  Pinkney  would 
have  ordered  the  connections  between  the  two 
houses  severed  at  once. 

As  it  was,  she  drove  the  shamefaced  Sammy 
into  the  house  ahead  of  her,  and  some  of  his  boy 
acquaintances,  lingering  with  ghoulish  curiosity 
outside,  heard  unmistakable  sounds  of  punish- 
ment being  inflicted  upon  the  culprit. 

He  was  then  sent  up  to  his  room  to  meditate. 
And  just  outside  his  screened  window  was  the 
tantalizing  tramway  which  Neale  had  repaired 
and  which  was  again  in  good  working  order. 

Sammy  had  been  forbidden  to  use  the  new  play- 
thing; but  the  little  Corner  House  girls  soon  began 
to  feel  sorry  for  him.  Even  Tess  thought  that 
his  punishment  was  too  hard. 


Neighbor  77 

**For  he  didn't  really  hurt  Sandyface  and  the 
kittens.    Only  scared  'em,"  she  said. 

"But  s'pose  they'd  've  got  dizzy  and  fell  out — 
like  I  did  out  of  the  swing?"  Dot  observed,  in- 
clined to  make  the  matter  more  serious  even  than 
her  sister.    *^Then  what  would  have  happened!" 

Tess  nevertheless  felt  sorry  for  the  culprit,  and 
seeing  his  woe  begone  and  tear-stained  face 
pressed  close  to  his  chamber  window,  she  wrote 
the  following  on  a  piece  of  pasteboard,  stood  it 
upright  in  the  basket  and  drew  it  across  so  that 
Sammy  might  read  it : 

DOnT  MINE  SAmmY    WE  Ar  SORRY 
THe  CaTS  AR  Al  RITE 
DOT  &  TESS 

The  "cafastrophy"  as  Neale  insisted  upon  call- 
ing the  accident,  threw  some  gloom  into  an  other- 
wise pleasant  day — ^for  the  little  girls  at  least. 
And  that  evening  something  else  was  discovered 
that  sent  Dot  to  bed  in  almost  as  low  a  state  of 
mind  as  that  with  which  Sammy  Pinkney  re- 
tired. 

This  second  unfortunate  incident  happened 
after  supper,  when  they  were  all  gathered  in  the 
sitting  room,  Neale,  too,  being  present.  Luke 
asked  Dot  if  she  had  decided  upon  a  name  for  the 
new  baby. 

*'0h,  yes,  Mr.  Luke,"  the  smallest  Corner 
House  girl  replied.  "The  sailor-baby  was 
christened  to-day.    Didn't  you  know!" 


78    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**I  hadn't  heard  about  it,"  he  confessed. 
"What  is  he  caUedr* 

Dot  told  him  proudly.     And  Tess  said: 

** Don't  you  think  it  is  a  pretty  name?  Dot 
found  it  all  her  own  self.  It  was  painted  on  a 
bam." 

' '  What 's  that  ? ' '  asked  Neale  suddenly.  *  *  What 
was  painted  on  a  barn?" 

"The  sailor-baby's  name,"  Dot  said  proudly. 
**  *Nosmo  King  Kenway.'  " 

"On  a  barn?"  repeated  the  puzzled  Neale. 
"Whose  barn?" 

When  he  learned  that  it  was  Mr.  Stout's 
tobacco  barn  he  looked  rather  funny  and  asked 
several  other  questions  of  the  little  girls. 

Then  he  drew  a  sheet  of  paper  toward  him  and 
with  a  pencil  printed  something  upon  it,  which 
he  passed  to  Agnes.  She  burst  into  laughter  at 
once,  and  passed  the  paper  on. 

"What  is  it?"  Dot  asked  curiously.  "Is  it  a 
funny  picture  he's  drawed?" 

"It's  funnier  than  a  picture,"  laughed  Luke, 
who  had  taken  a  squint  at  the  paper.  "I  declare, 
isn't  that  a  good  one!" 

"I  don't  think  you  folks  are  very  polite,"  Tess 
said,  rather  haughtily,  for  the  others  were  not  go- 
ing to  show  the  paper  to  the  little  girls.  On  the 
sheet  Neale  had  arranged  the  letters  of  the  new 
baby's  name  as  they  were  meant  to  be  read — for 
he  knew  what  was  painted  upon  the  inside  of  the 
doors  of  Mr.  Stout's  bam: 


Neighbor  79 

NO  SMOKING 

Euth,  however,  would  not  let  the  joke  go  on. 
She  took  Dot  up  on  her  lap  and  explained  kindly 
how  the  mistake  had  been  make.  For  Nosmo  was 
a  pretty  name;  nobody  could  deny  it.  And,  of 
course,  King  sounded  particularly  aristocratic. 

Nevertheless,  Dot  there  and  then  dropped  the 
sailor-baby's  fancy  name,  and  he  became  Jack,  to 
be  known  by  that  name  forever  more. 

After  the  smaller  girls  had  disappeared  stair- 
ward,  Neale  and  Luke  unfolded  one  of  the  card- 
tables  and  began  a  game  of  chess  which  shut  them 
entirely  out  of  the  general  conversation  for  the 
remainder  of  the  evening. 

The  girls  and  Mrs.  MacCall  chatted  companion- 
ably.  They  had  much  to  tell  each  other,  for,  after 
all,  the  Comer  House  girls  and  Cecile  Shepard 
had  spent  but  one  adventurous  night  together 
and  they  needed  to  learn  the  particulars  of  each 
other's  lives  before  they  really  could  feel  **at 
home  with  one  another,"  as  Agnes  expressed  it. 

Cecile  and  her  brother  could  scarcely  remember 
their  parents;  and  the  maiden  aunt  they  lived 
with — a  half  sister  of  their  father's — was  the 
only  relative  they  knew  anything  about. 

**0h,  no,"  Cecile  said,  **we  can  expect  no  step- 
up  in  this  world  by  the  aid  of  any  interested  rela- 
tive. There  is  no  wealthy  and  influential  uncle  or 
aunt  to  give  us  a  helping  hand.  We're  lucky  to 
get  an  education.    Aunt  Lorena  makes  that  pos- 


80    The  Corner  House  Girls  Gromng  Up 

sible  with  her  aid.  And  she  does  what  sbe  can,  I 
know  full  well,  only  by  much  self-sacrifice." 

Then  the  cheerful  girl  began  to  laugh  rem- 
iniscently.  "That  is,"  she  pursued,  '*/  can  look 
forward  to  the  help  of  no  fairy  godmother  or  god- 
father. But  Luke  is  in  better  odor  with  Neighbor 
than  I  am." 

"  'Neighbor'?"  repeated  Ruth.  **Who  is  he? 
Or  is  it  a  what?" 

*  *  Or  a  game  ? ' '  laughed  Agnes.    * '  *  Neighbor  M  " 

"He  is  really  great  fun,"  said  Cecile,  still 
laughing.  "So  I  suppose  he  might  be  called  a 
game.  He  really  is  a  'neighbor,'  however.  He  is 
a  man  named  Henry  Harrison  Northrup,  who 
lives  right  beside  Aunt  Lorena's  little  cottage  in 
Grantham. 

"You  see,  Luke  and  I  used  always  to  work 
around  Aunt  Lorena's  yard,  and  have  a  garden, 
and  cliickens,  and  what-not  when  we  were 
younger.  Everybody  has  big  yards  in  that  part 
of  Grantham.  And  Mr.  Northrup,  on  one  side, 
was  always  quarreling  with  auntie.  He  is  a 
misogynist — " 

"A  mls-what-mestV^  gasped  Mrs.  MacCall, 
hearing  a  new  word. 

"Oh,  I  know!"  cried  Agnes,  eagerly.  "A 
woman-hater.    A  man  who  hates  women." 

"Humph!"  scoffed  Mrs.  MacCall,  "is  there 
such  indeed?  And  what  do  they  call  a  man- 
hater?" 


Neighbor  81 

**That,  Mrs.  MacCall,  I  cannot  tell  you," 
laughed  Cecile.  *'I  fear  there  are  no  women  man- 
haters — not  really.  At  least  there  is  no  dis- 
tinctive title  for  them  in  the  dictionary." 

"So  much  the  worse  for  the  dictionary,  then," 
said  the  Scotch  woman.  **And,  of  course,  that's 
man-made ! ' ' 

"It  was  only  the  Greeks  who  were  without 
*em,"  put  in  Ruth,  smiling.  "The  perfectly 
good,  expressive  English  word  *  man-hater*  is  in 
the  dictionary  without  a  doubt." 

"But  do  go  on  about  Neighbor,"  Agnes  urged. 
"Does  he  quarrel  with  you  people  all  the  time?" 

"Not  with  Luke,"  Cecile  explained.  "He  likes 
Luke.  He  is  really  very  fond  of  him,  although 
it  seems  positively  to  hurt  him  to  show  love  for 
anybody. 

"But  a  long  time  ago  Mr.  Northrup  began  to 
show  an  interest  in  Luke.  He  would  come  to  the 
fence  between  his  and  Aunt  Lorena's  places,  and 
talk  with  Luke  by  the  hour.  But  if  either  I  or 
aunty  came  near  he'd  turn  right  around  and 
walk  away. 

* '  He  never  allows  a  woman  inside  his  door  and 
hasn't,  they  say,  for  twenty  years.  He  has  a 
Japanese  servant — the  only  one  that  was  ever 
seen  in  Grantham;  and  they  get  along  without 
a  woman." 

"I'd  like  tae  see  intae  that  hoos,"  snapped 
Mrs.  MacCall,  shaking  her  head  and  dropping 


82     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

into  her  broad  Scotch,  as  she  often  did  when  ex- 
cited. **What  could  twa'  buddies  of  men  do  alone 
at  housekeeping!'* 

**0h,  the  Jap  is  trained  to  it,"  Cecile  said. 
**Luke  says  everything  is  spick  and  span  there. 
And  Mr.  Northrup  himself,  although  he  dresses 
queerly  in  old-fashioned  clothes,  has  always  clean 
linen  and  is  well  brushed. 

*'But  he  does  not  often  appear  outside  of  his 
own  yard.  He  really  hates  to  meet  women.  His 
front  gate  is  locked.  Luke  climbs  the  fence  when 
he  goes  to  see  Neighbor;  but  people  with  skirts 
aren't  supposed  to  be  able  to  climb  fences;  so 
Mr.  Northrup  is  pretty  safe.  Even  the  minister's 
wife  doesn't  get  in." 

**But  why  do  you  call  him  Neighbor?"  asked 
Buth  again. 

** That's  what  he  told  Luke  to  call  him  in  the 
first  place.  We  were  not  very  old  when  Luke's 
strange  friendship  with  Mr.  Northrup  began. 
After  they  had  become  quite  chummy  Luke,  who 
was  a  little  fellow,  asked  the  old  gentleman  if 
he  couldn't  call  him  Uncle  Henry.  You  see,  Luke 
liked  him  so  much  that  he  wanted  to  say  some- 
thing warmer  than  Mister. 

**But  that  would  never  do.  Mr.  Northrup 
seemed  to  think  that  might  connect  him  in  people's 
minds  with  Aunt  Lorena.  So  he  told  Luke  finally 
to  call  him  Neighbor. 

**0f  course,  the  old  gentleman  is  really  a  dear 
— only  he  doesn't  know  it,"  continued  Cecile. 


Neighbor  83 

"He  thinks  he  hates  women,  and  the  idea  of 
marriage  is  as  distasteful  to  him  as  a  red  rag  is 
to  a  bull. 

**He  is  going  to  leave  Luke  all  his  money  he 
says.  At  any  rate,  he  has  promised  to  do  some- 
thing for  him  when  he  gets  out  of  college  if  he 
manages  to  graduate  in  good  odor  with  the 
faculty,"  and  Cecile  laughed. 

**But  if  Luke  should  suggest  such  a  thing  as 
marrying — even  if  the  girl  were  the  nicest  girl 
in  the  world — Neighbor  would  not  listen  to  it. 
He  would  cut  their  friendship  in  a  moment,  I 
know,"  added  the  girl  seriously.  **And  his  help 
may  be  of  great  value  to  Luke  later  on." 

If  Cecile  had  some  reason  for  telling  the  older 
Comer  House  girls  and  Mrs.  MacCall  this  story 
she  did  not  point  the  moral  of  it  by  as  much 
as  a  word  or  a  look.  They  were  quickly  upon 
another  topic  of  conversation.  But  perhaps  what 
she  had  said  had  taken  deep  root  in  the  heart 
of  one,  at  least,  of  her  audience. 


CHAPTER  IX 

EVERYTHING   AT   SIXES   AND    SEVENS 

Things  sometimes  begin  to  go  wrong  the  very 
moment  one  wakes  np  in  the  morning. 

Then  there  is  the  coming  down  to  breakfast 
with  a  teeny,  weeny  twist  in  one's  temper  that 
makes  some  unfeeling  person  say : 

"I  guess  you  got  out  of  the  wrong  side  of  the 
bed  this  morning." 

Now,  of  course,  that  is  silly.  There  can  be  no 
wrong  side  to  a  bed — that  is,  to  get  out  of. 
Getting  up  has  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Things 
are  just  wrong  and  that  is  all  there  is  to  it. 

Fortunately  this  state  of  mind  seldom  lasted  all 
day  with  any  of  the  four  Comer  House  girls; 
nor  did  they  often  begin  the  day  in  such  a  humor. 

But  there  are  exceptions  to  every  rule,  they 
say.  And  this  Wednesday  most  certainly  was  the 
day  when  matters  were  *'at  sixes  and  sevens'* 
for  Dorothy  Kenway. 

It  would  not  be  at  all  surprising  if  the  trouble 
started  the  evening  before  when  she  learned  that 
she  had  inadvertently  named  her  new  baby  No 
Smoking.  That  certainly  was  cause  for  despair 
as  well  as  making  one  feel  horribly  ridiculous. 

Of  course,  Euth  in  her  kind  way,  had  tried  to 

84 


Everything  at  Sixes  and  Sevens       85 

make  the  smallest  Comer  House  girl  forget  it ;  hut 
Dot  remembered  it  very  clearly  when  morning 
came  and  she  got  up. 

Then,  she  could  not  find  the  slippers  she  had 
worn  the  day  before;  and  if  Mrs.  MacCall  saw 
her  with  her  best  ones  on,  there  would  be  some- 
thing said  about  it — Dot  knew  that. 

Then,  Tess  seemed  suddenly  very  distant  to 
her.  She  had  something  on  her  mind  and  carried 
herself  with  her  very  **grown-upest"  air  with 
Dot.  The  latter,  on  this  morning  particularly, 
hated  to  admit  that  Tess  was  more  than  a  very 
few  days  older  than  herseK. 

Tess  went  off  on  this  business  that  made  her 
so  haughty,  all  by  herself,  right  after  breakfast. 
When  Dot  called  after  her: 

"Where  are  you  going,  Tess!"  the  latter  had 
said  very  frankly,  ** Where  you  can*t  go,"  and 
then  went  right  on  without  stopping  for  a  moment 
to  argue  the  point. 

**I  do  think  that  is  too  mean  for  anything!" 
declared  Dot  to  herself,  quite  too  angry  to  cry. 
She  sat  sullenly  on  the  porch  steps,  and  although 
she  heard  Sandyface  purring  very  loudly  and 
suggestively,  just  inside  the  woodshed  door,  she 
would  not  get  up  to  go  to  see  the  old  cat's  babies 
— of  which  Sandyface  was  inordinately  proud. 

"Wait,"  rumiaated  Dot,  shaking  her  head. 
"Wait  till  Tess  Kenway  wants  me  to  go  some- 
where with  her.    1  won't  go!    There,  now!" 

So  she  sat,  feeling  very  lonesome  and  miser- 


86    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

able,  and  ** enjoying"  it  immensely.  She  need 
not  have  been  lonely.  She  could  hear  the  older 
girls  and  Luke  laughing  in  the  front  of  the  house, 
and  she  would  have  been  welcomed  had  she  gone 
there.  Euth  was  always  a  comforter,  and  even 
Agnes  seldom  said  the  smallest  girl  nay. 

But  Dot  had  managed  to  raise  a  laugh  a  little 
while  before — she  being  the  person  laughed  at. 
She  chanced  to  hear  Luke,  who  was  running 
lightly  over  the  old  and  yellowed  keys  of  the 
piano,  say: 

**No  wonder  these  instruments  cost  so  much. 
You  know  it  takes  several  elephants  alone  to  make 
these,"  and  he  struck  another  chord. 

Dot  had  heard  about  the  intelligence  of  ele- 
phants and  like  most  other  little  people  believed 
that  the  great  pachyderms  could  do  almost  any- 
thing. But  this  was  too  much  for  even  Dot  Ken- 
way's  belief. 

**0h,  Ruth!  elephants  can't  work  at  that  trade, 
can  they?"  she  demanded. 

''What  trade,  honey?"  asked  the  surprised 
older  sister. 

**  Piano  making.  I  should  think  that  car- 
penters built  pianos — not  elephants," 

Of  course,  the  older  ones  had  laughed,  and 
Dot's  spirits  had  fallen  another  degree,  although 
Ruth  was  careful  to  explain  to  the  little  girl  that 
Luke  had  meant  it  took  the  tusks  of  several  ele- 
phants to  fashion  the  ivory  keys  for  one  piano. 

However,  Dot  was  in  no  mood  for  ''tagging" 


Everything  at  Sixes  and  Sevens       87 

after  the  older  ones.  She  just  wanted  to  sit  still 
and  suffer!  She  heard  Mabel  Creamer  *'hoo- 
hooing'*  for  her  from  beyond  the  yard  fence,  but 
she  would  not  answer.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
Alice-doll  (which  of  course  she  hugged  tight  to 
her  troubled  little  breast)  life  would  have  scarcely 
seemed  worth  living  to  the  smallest  Corner  House 
girl. 

And  just  then  she  looked  up  and  saw  a  picture 
across  the  street  even  more  woebegone  than  the 
one  she  herself  made.  It  was  Sammy  Pinkney, 
gloom  corrugating  his  brow,  an  angry  flush  in  his 
cheeks,  and  sullenly  kicking  the  toe  first  of  one 
shoe  and  then  the  other  against  the  pickets  of 
the  fence  where  he  stood. 

It  was  evident  that  Sammy  had  been  forbidden 
freedom  other  than  that  of  his  own  premises. 
He  stared  across  at  the  smallest  Corner  House 
girl;  but  he  was  too  miserable  even  to  hail  Dot. 

After  all,  it  seemed  to  the  latter,  that  Sammy 
was  being  inordinately  punished  for  having  given 
Sandyface  and  her  family  an  aerial  ride.  Be- 
sides, misery  loves  company.  Dot  was  in  no 
mood  to  mingle  with  the  joyous  and  free.  But 
Sammy's  state  appealed  to  her  deeply. 

She  finally  got  up  off  the  step  and  strolled  out 
of  the  yard  and  across  the  street. 

**  'Lo,  Sammy,"  she  said,  as  the  boy  continued 
to  stare  in  another  direction  though  knowing  very 
well  that  she  was  present  before  him. 

**  'Lo,  Dot,"  he  grumbled. 


88    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

** What's  the  matter,  Sammy?"  she  asked. 

** Ain't  nothin'  the  matter,"  he  denied,  kicking 
on  the  pickets  again. 

"Dear  me,"  sighed  Dot,  "I  .iust  think  every- 
thing's  too  mean  for  awi/thing!" 

''Huh!" 

**And  everybody  at  my  house  is  mean  to  me, 
too,"  added  the  little  girl,  stirring  up  her  own 
bile  by  the  audible  reiteration  of  her  thoughts. 
**Yes,  they  are  I" 

*  *  Huh ! ' '  repeated  the  scornful  Sammy.  *  *  They 
ain't  nowhere  near  as  mean  to  you  as  my  folks 
are  to  me." 

**You  don't  know — " 

*'Did  they  lick  you?"  demanded  the  boy 
fiercely. 

"No-o." 

**And  then  make  you  stay  in  your  room  and 
have  your  supper  there?" 

**No-o." 

**Ma  brought  it  up  on  a  tray,"  the  boy  said 
fiercely,  **so  I  couldn't  get  no  second  helping  of 
apple  dumpling." 

**0h,  Sammy  I"  Somehow,  after  all,  his  misery 
seemed  greater  than  her  own.  Yet  there  was  a 
sore  spot  in  the  little  girl's  heart.  "I — I  wish 
I  could  run  away,"  she  blurted  out,  never  having 
thought  of  such  a  thing  until  that  very  moment. 
''Then  they'd  see." 

**Hist!"  breathed  Sammy,  coming  closer  and 
putting  his  lips  as  close  to  the  little  girl's  ear  as 


Everything  at  Sixes  and  Sevens       89 

the  pickets  would  allow.  **HistI  /  am  going 
to  run  away!" 

Dot  took  this  statement  much  more  calmly  than 
he  expected. 

**0h,  yes,"  she  said.  **When  you  go  to  be  a 
pirate.  You've  told  me  that  before,  Sammy 
Pinkney."  In  fact,  she  had  been  hearing  this 
threat  ever  since  she  had  come  to  the  old  Comer 
House  and  become  acquainted  with  this  young- 
ster. 

**And  I  am  going  to  be  a  pirate,*'  growled 
Sammy,  with  just  as  deep  a  voice  as  he  could 
muster. 

**0h!  not  nowf*  gasped  Dot,  suddenly  realiz- 
ing that  this  occasion  was  fraught  with  more  seri- 
ousness than  any  previous  one  of  like  character. 
**You  aren't  going  right  off  now  to  be  a  pirate, 
Sammy  Pinkney?" 

**Yes,  I  am,"  declared  the  boy. 

**Not  now?  Not  this  morning?  Not  before 
your  mother  comes  back  from  marketing?"  for 
she  had  seen  Mrs.  Pinkney 's  departure  a  few 
minutes  before. 

"Yes,  I  am,"  and  Sammy  clinched  it  with  a 
vigorous  nod,  although  he  had  not  meant  to  run 
away  until  nightfall.  People  usually  waited  for 
night  to  run  away  so  it  seemed  to  Sammy,  but  he 
was  not  going  to  have  his  intention  doubted. 

**0h,  Sammy!"  gasped  Dot,  clasping  her  hands 
across  the  Alice-doll's  stomach,  **are — are  there 
girl  pirates?" 


90    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

"Are  there  what?"  questioned  Sammy  in 
doubt. 

**Can  girls  mn  away  and  be  pirates,  too?" 

**Why — er — they  wouldn't  dars't." 

**Yes,  I  would." 

"You!    Dot  Kenway?" 

**Yes  I  would,"  repeated  Dot  stubbornly. 

**You  want  to  be  a  pirate?"  repeated  Sammy. 
Of  course  he  would  rather  have  a  boy  to  run  away 
with.    But  then — 

*'Why  can't  girls  be  pirates?"  demanded  the 
logical  Dot.  ** Don't  pirates  have  to  have  some- 
body to  cook  and  wash  and  keep  house  for 
them?" 

**I — ^I  don't  know,"  admitted  Sammy  honestly. 
**I  never  read  about  any  girl  pirates.  But,"  as 
he  saw  Dot's  pretty  face  beginning  to  cloud  over, 
**I  don't  know  why  there  shouldn't  be,  if  they 
wasn't  too  'fraid." 

**I  won't  be  afraid,"  Dot  declared,  steeling  her- 
self as  she  had  once  done  when  she  was  forced  to 
go  to  the  dentist's  office. 

**We-ell,"  began  Sanuny  still  doubtfully.  But 
Dot  was  nothing  if  not  determined  when  once  she 
made  up  her  mind. 

**Now,  you  come  right  along,  Sammy  Pinkney, 
if  we're  going  to  run  away  and  be  pirates.  You 
know  your  mother  won't  let  you  if  she  comes 
home  and  catches  you  here." 

**But — ^but  we  ought  to  take  something  to  eat 


Eveiything  at  Sixes  and  Sevens       91 

■ — and  some  clothes — and — and  a  pistol  and  a 
knife—'* 

'*Oo-ee!'*  squealed  the  little  girl.  *'You  won't 
take  any  horrid  pistol  and  knife  if  you're  going 
to  run  oflf  to  be  pirates  with  me,  Sammy  Pinkney. 
"Why,  I'd  he  afraid  to  go  with  you." 

**Huh!"  grumbled  Sammy,  **you  don't  haf  to 
go." 

**But  you  said  I  could,"  Dot  declared,  sure  of 
her  position.  **And  now  you  can't  back  out — 
you  know  you  can't,  Sammy.  That  wouldn't  be 
fair." 

**Aw,  well.  We  gotter  have  money,"  he  ob- 
jected faintly. 

*'I'll  run  and  get  my  purse,"  the  little  girl  said 
cheerfully.  "I've  got  more  than  fifty  cents  in 
it." 

But  now  unwonted  chivalry  began  to  stir 
faintly  in  Sammy's  breast.  If  they  were  going 
away  together,  it  should  be  his  *' treat."  He 
marched  into  the  house,  smashed  his  bank  with 
the  kitchen  poker,  and  came  out  with  a  pocket 
full  of  silver  and  nickels  that  looked  as  if  they 
amounted  to  much  more  than  they  really  did. 

However,  the  sinews  of  war  in  his  pocket  was 
not  without  a  certain  inspiration  and  comfort. 
Money  would  go  a  long  way  toward  getting  them 
to  a  place  where  their  respective  families  could 
neither  nag  nor  punish  them. 

As  runaways   they  may  have  been  different 


92    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

from  most.  But,  then,  Sammy  and  Dot  were 
very  modem  runaways  indeed.  People  who  saw 
them  merely  observed  two  very  well  dressed 
children,  walking  hand  in  hand  toward  the 
suburbs  of  Milton ;  the  little  girl  hugging  a  doll  to 
her  breast  and  the  boy  with  a  tight  fist  in  one 
pocket  holding  down  a  couple  of  dollars  worth  of 
change. 

Who  would  have  dreamed  that  they  were 
enamored  of  being  pirates  and  expected  to  follow 
a  career  of  rapine  and  bloodthirsty  adventure  on 
the  Spanish  Main? 


CHAPTEE  X 

ABOARD   THE   NANCY   HANKS 

It  must  be  confessed — and  not  to  the  belittle- 
ment  of  Sammy  Pinkney — that  he  never  would 
have  run  away  to  be  a  pirate  on  this  occasion 
had  it  not  been  for  Dot  Kenway.  When  this  little 
miss  had  once  set  her  mind  to  a  thing  it  took  a 
good  deal  to  turn  her  from  her  purpose. 

It  had  been  Sammy  *s  dire  threat  for  a  long 
time  that  he  would  seek  the  adventurous  life  of 
a  buccaneer  on  the  rolling  main.  But  he  had 
never  set  a  definite  date  for  his  departure  upon 
this  venture.  To-day  was  the  day.  Fate  willed 
it  thus.  And  it  looked  as  though  fate  was  dis- 
guised in  the  character  of  a  strong-minded  little 
girl  with  two  cherry-red  hair-ribbons  and  a  doll 
hugged  tightly  in  her  arms. 

Sammy,  however,  having  once  embarked  on  the 
venture  considered  that  he  must  take  a  certain 
lead  in  affairs.  Dot  certainly  had  urged  him 
away  from  home  and  mother;  but  now  she  gave 
up  the  guidance  of  affairs  entirely  into  her  com- 
panion's hands. 

She  had  no  more  idea  of  what  '* being  pirates" 
meant  than  she  had  of  the  location  where  "pirat- 
ing" as  a  profession  might  be  safely  pursued. 

93 


94    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

On  Sammy 's  part,  he  knew  that  pirates  roved  the 
sea.  The  nearest  water  to  the  comer  of  Willow 
and  Main  Streets  was  the  canal.  Therefore  he 
led  the  little  girl  by  the  hand  toward  that  rather 
placid  body  of  water  that  flowed  through  one  end 
of  Milton  and  into  the  river. 

The  canal  connected  two  tributaries  of  a  large 
watercourse — the  largest  in  the  state,  in  fact; 
but  it  was  not  a  very  busy  waterway.  Now  and 
then  a  battered  old  barge  was  drawii  through  by 
a  pair  of  equally  battered  horses  or  mules. 
Milton  people  held  the  canal  folk  in  some  con- 
tempt. But  then,  they  knew  very  little  about  the 
followers  of  the  inland  waterways  as  a  class. 

Sometimes  some  of  the  canal  boatmen  came 
over  as  far  as  Meadow  Street  to  purchase  provi- 
sions of  Mrs.  Kranz,  or  of  Joe  Maroni,  both  of 
whom  occupied  stores  on  property  belonging  now 
to  the  four  Comer  House  girls;  and  the  way  the 
two  small  runaways  took  on  this  day  led  them 
directly  past  this  Meadow  Street  property. 

**If  we  are  going  to  be  pirates,"  said  Sammy 
rather  soberly  for  him,  "we  must  lay  in  a  stock 
of  provisions.     We've  got  to  eat,  you  know." 

**0h!  have  we?"  asked  the  little  girl,  to  whom 
the  fact  of  piracy  was  a  sublimated  sort  of  exist- 
ence in  which  she  had  not  considered  it  would  be 
necessary  to  think  of  mundane  things. 

"I've  got  the  money,  and  we'll  lay  in  a  stock,*' 
Sammy  said,  proud  of  his  position  now  as 
acknowledged  leader  of  the  expedition. 


Aboard  the  Nancy  Hanks  95 

Mrs.  Kranz,  tlie  German  woman  who  kept  the 
delicatessen  store,  was  not  at  all  surprised  to  see 
Dot.  The  Comer  House  girls  often  visited  her 
and  the  other  tenants  on  the  property,  and  Dot 
was  particularly  beloved  by  the  good  woman. 

**My!  my!  Undt  de  baby,  too?  Coom  right 
in  undt  haf  some  nice  pop-sarsaparilla.  I  haf 
some  on  de  ice  yet — ^you  undt  your  young  man.** 

**0h,  Mrs.  Kranz!"  cried  Dot,  eagerly,  **we 
haven't  come  to  visit  you.  WeVe  come  to  buy 
something. ' ' 

But  Sammy  nudged  her  quickly.  ** Let's  have 
the  sarsaparilla,"  he  whispered  in  Dot's  ear,  as 
the  generous  woman  bustled  away  to  the  icebox. 
''That'll  go  fine." 

,  Maria  Maroni,  oldest  of  the  fruit  dealer's 
family,  who  dwelt  in  the  cellar  of  the  building  but 
lived  mostly  with  Mrs.  Kranz,  waited  upon 
Sammy ;  so  the  storekeeper  herself  had  no  idea  of 
the  queer  order  Sammy  gave. 

He  bought  crackers — mostly  of  the  animal 
kind ;  a  piece  of  cheese ;  fishhooks ;  a  ball  of  twine ; 
a  sack  of  potatoes  (Maria  ran  and  got  those  from 
her  father) ;  a  pencil  and  a  pad  of  paper ;  some 
raisins;  a  jar  of  peanut  butter;  some  drop-cakes; 
and  ten  cents'  worth  of  a  confection  just  then  very 
popular,  called  by  the  children  "gumballs." 

All  these  things,  save  the  gumballs,  he  had  put 
in  a  flour  sack,  and  told  Dot  they  were  ready  to 
depart. 

"Undt  dat  iss  a  pig  pundle  of  t'ings  Mrs.  Mac- 


96     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Call  sent  you  for,"  said  Mrs.  Kranz  placidly,  as 
the  runaways  started  out  of  the  store. 

**0h,  Mrs.  MacCall  didn't  send  us,"  Dot  ex- 
plained. 

**No?    Are  dey  for  de  poy's  mutter?" 

*'0h,  no.  You  see,  Mrs.  Kranz,"  Dot  said 
gravely,  "we're  going  to  be  pirates,  and  we  have 
to  have  a  stock  of  things  to  eat.  Don't  we, 
Sammy?" 

"Come  along,"  growled  Sanamy,  fearful  that 
they  would  be  laughed  at. 

But  Mrs.  Kranz  was  befogged.  She  had  never 
before  heard  of  pirates,  and  she  did  not  know 
whether  it  was  a  game,  a  lodge  one  belonged  to, 
or  a  picnic.  She  guessed  it  was  the  last,  however, 
for  she  bade  them  a  hearty  farewell  and  hoped 
they  would  have  a  pleasant  day. 

As  they  came  out  there  was  Joe  Maroni  him- 
self, the  neat,  smiling,  brown  little  Italian  in  his 
corduroy  suit  and  with  gold  rings  in  his  ears, 
ready  waiting  with  a  basket  piled  high  with 
fruit. 

"For  the  leetle  padrona,"  Joe  said,  with  a  smil- 
ing bow,  sending  his  usual  gift  to  Ruth,  whom 
he  considered  a  grand  signora  and,  as  his  "land- 
lady," deserving  of  such  thoughtful  attentions. 

"Aw,  say!"  cried  Sammy  his  eyes  growing  big; 
"that's  scrumptious." 

"But  they  are  for  Ruthie,"  complained  Dot. 
"We'll  have  to  lug  them  all  around  with  us — and 


Aboard  the  Nancy  Hanks  97 

no  knowing  when  we'll  get  home  from  being 
pirates." 

*'Get  home!"  snorted  the  boy.  *'"Why,  we 
can't  never  go  home  again.  If  they  catch  us 
they'll  hang  ns  in  chains." 

Dot's  mouth  became  suddenly  a  round  **0'* 
and  nothing  more,  while  her  eyes  Neale  O'Neil 
would  have  said  had  he  seen  them,  ** bulged  out." 
The  assurance  in  Sammy's  tone  seemed  final. 
She  could  not  go  home  again!  And  "hanging  in 
chains"  somehow  had  an  awfully  creepy  sound. 

But  as  the  boy  himself  did  not  seem  to  take 
these  terrible  possibilities  very  seriously,  Dot 
took  comfort  from  that  fact  and  went  on  again 
cheerfully.  Nor  did  she  mind  carrying  the  basket 
of  attractive  fruit.  One  of  the  peaches  on  top 
was  a  little  mellow  and  she  stuck  a  tentative  finger 
into  the  most  luscious  spot  she  could  see  upon  the 
cheek  of  that  particular  peach. 

The  juice  was  just  as  sweet!  She  touched  it 
with  her  finger  again  and  then  put  the  finger  to 
her  lips. 

By  this  time  they  had  come  out  of  Meadow 
Street  and  were  crossing  the  open  common  toward 
the  canal.  On  one  hand  was  a  blacksmith  shop, 
and  the  smith  was  getting  ready  to  shoe  a  pair 
of  mules  which,  with  drooping  ears  and  saddened 
aspect,  waited  in  the  shade. 

There  was  no  moving  boat  on  the  canal  and 
nothing  stirring  along  the  towpath.    But  a  bat- 


98    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

tered  looking  old  barge  was  moored  to  the  nigh 
bank,  and  Sammy's  face  brightened. 

**Come  on,  Dot,"  he  said,  glancing  back  at  the 
little  girl.  "There's  a  ship  and  I  guess  there 
isn't  anybody  aboard.  Anyhow,  if  there  is,  we'll 
fight  our  way  over  the  bulwarks,  kill  half  the 
crew,  and  make  the  others  walk  the  plank.  That 
is  what  pirates  would  do." 

**Oo-ee!"  squealed  Dot — and  she  dropped  the 
basket  of  fruit.  i 

"Aw,  say!"  growled  Sanuny.  "Wliat  kind  of 
a  pirate  will  you  make?  Of  course  we  have  to  do 
what  all  pirates  do."  vj 

But  it  was  not  anything  to  do  with  the  true 
business  of  pirating  that  had  brought  forth  that 
squeal  from  Dot  Kenway.  Just  as  she  had  been 
about  to  touch  that  peach  again  with  her  pink 
finger,  where  the  sweet  juice  was  oozing  out,  a 
great  ugly,  yellow  wasp  came  along  and  lit  right 
on  that  juicy  spot! 

"Oo-eel"  squealed  Dot  again.  Sammy  val- 
iantly came  to  the  rescue,  and  beat  away  the 
"stinger"  with  his  cap.  But  he  carried  the  fruit 
himself,  as  well  as  the  bag  of  other  provisions,  the 
rest  of  the  way  to  the  canalboat. 

"Can't  trust  you  with  it.  Dot,"  he  declared. 
"You'd  have  the  things  all  mush  if  you  dropped 
them  every  time  you  saw  a  bee." 

"I  don't  like  bees,"  declared  his  little  comrade. 

"And  you  was  one  yourself,  once,"  grinned 
Sammy.    "In  that  show,  you  know." 


Aboard  the  Nancy  Hanks  99 

«'0h,  but  I  didn't  sting  anybody,"  the  little 
girl  replied.    **I  wouldn't  be  so  mean!" 

"How  do  you  know  this  fellow  was  going  to 
sting  you!"  demanded  Sammy. 

**Why,  Sammy  Pinkney!  Of  course  he  was!" 
declared  Dot,  earnestly.  **I — ^I  could  see  it  right 
in  his  face!    He  was  so  ugly." 

The  canalboat  was  high  out  of  the  water,  for 
its  hold  was  empty;  but  the  runaways  climbed 
aboard  easily.  Sammy  was  as  brave  as  a  lion. 
He  proposed  to  take  possession  of  the  craft  and 
drive  ashore  anybody  who  might  already  be  there. 
Only,  there  was  nobody  aboard. 

**The  crew  maybe  saw  us  coming  and  deserted 
her,"  he  said  to  Dot.  **Lots  of  'em  do.  When 
they  see  the  Black  Roger  flying  at  our  peak — " 

"What's  the  Black  Roger?"  demanded  Dot, 
big-eyed  again.  She  was  gaining  considerable 
information  regarding  pirates  and  "pirating." 

"Our  flag.  And  when  the  crews  of  the  mer- 
chant ships  see  it,  they  tremble,"  went  on  Sammy. 

"But  we  haven't  got  any  flag,"  said  the  rather 
literal  Dot.    "You  know  we  haven't,  Sammy." 

"Well,"  he  returned  cheerfully,  "we'll  have  to 
make  one.  I  made  one  once.  I  got  one  of  my 
father's  handkerchiefs,  and  blacked  it  with  ma's 
liquid  shoeblaeking,  all  but  white  spots  in  the 
center  for  a  skull  and  crossbones.  But — ^but,"  he 
admitted,  "ma  took  it  away  from  me." 

"Never  mind,"  said  Dot,  kindly.  "I've  got  a 
handkerchief,"  and  she  pulled  forth  from  her 


100    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

pocket  a  diminutive  bit  of  cambric.    **You  get 
some  shoeblacking  and  we'll  make  another.'* 

Sammy  was  for  getting  settled  at  once,  and 
be  went  to  the  door  of  the  decked  over  cabin  in- 
tending to  put  their  possessions  inside.  But  the 
door  was  made  fast  with  a  big  padlock. 

However,  a  hatch  cover  was  off  one  of  the 
hatchways,  and  the  sunshine  shone  down  into  the 
hold  of  the  canalboat.  It  seemed  dry  and  com- 
fortable just  under  this  opening  and  there  was 
a  rough  ladder  which  gave  access  to  the  hold. 
Sammy  went  down  first;  then  Dot  delivered  the- 
package  of  groceries  into  his  arms,  then  the 
basket  of  fruit,  and  lastly  backed  over  the  edge 
herself  in  a  most  gingerly  way,  and  was  helped 
down  gallantly  by  the  pirate  chief. 

"Now  what '11  we  do,  Sammy?"  asked  the  little 
girl  eagerly. 

**We'll  unpack  our  things  first,"  said  Sammy. 
**Then  I'll  rig  up  a  fish-line.  We'll  have  to  catch 
fish  to  help  out  with  the  rest  of  the  grub,"  added 
the  practical  youngster. 

**But  not  with  worms!"  cried  Dot,  with  a  shud- 
der. "If  you  bring  any  of  those  horrid,  squirmy 
worms  aboard  this  boat,  I — I'll  just  go  right  home 
and  not  be  pirates  any  more." 

"Oh!  All  right,"  said  the  scornful  Sammy, 
who  found  "female  pirates"  rather  more  trying 
than  he  had  supposed.  "I'll  fish  with  grasshop- 
pers." 

"We-ell,"  agreed  Dot.    "Only  don't  let   'em 


Aboard  the  Nancy  Hanks  101 

jump  on  me.  For  if  they  do  I'll  scream — I  know 
I  shall,  Sammy.** 

"Pooh!  Pirates  don't  scream,"  growled  the 
boy. 

"Not — ^not  even  girl  pirates?" 

"No,"  said  the  boy  doggedly.  **  *Taint  the 
thing  to  do.    We  got  to  be  real  savage  and — " 

"Oh,  but,  Sammy!"  gasped  the  little  girl,  "I 
couldn't  be  savage  to  a  grasshopper." 

However,  they  unpacked  their  provisions  and 
arranged  them  on  a  board.  Dot  really  could  not 
keep  her  finger  off  that  mellow  peach. 

"I  don't  believe  Ruthie  would  mind,"  she  said 
at  last.  "And,  anyway,  it's  getting  so  juicy  that 
maybe  it  wouldn't  be  good  by  the  time  we  got 
home — " 

"Don't  I  tell  you  we  ain't  going  home  no 
more?"  demanded  Sammy. 

"Er — ^well,  then  I  guess  we'd  better  eat  the 
peach  to  save  it,"  said  the  little  girl,  with  some 
hesitancy.  "You  cut  it  in  half,  Sammy,"  she 
added  with  more  decision. 

Inroads  were  made  upon  most  of  the  other  pro- 
visions within  the  first  hour.  For,  indeed,  what 
else  is  there  more  interesting  in  being  pirates  than 
using  up  the  food  laid  in  for  a  voyage?  Sammy 
had  spent  his  two  dollars  with  the  cheerfulness 
and  judgment  of  a  sailor  ashore  with  his  pay  in 
his  pocket.  And  he  did  not  propose  to  let  any 
greedy  little  girl  eat  her  share  and  his  own  of 
their  stock. 


102    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Several  times  Sammy  ran  up  the  ladder  to 
examine  the  vicinity  of  the  Nancy  Hanks,  as  the 
battered  old  canalboat  was  named — its  title  being 
painted  in  big  letters  along  either  side  of  the 
decked-over  cabin,  which  was  a  little  higher  than 
the  remainder  of  the  deck — ^but  the  pirate  chief 
sighted  no  prey  on  the  canal.  The  waters  of  that 
raging  main  seemed  deserted  of  all  craft  what- 
soever. 

Suddenly,  however,  he  sighted  an  approaching 
group.  It  came  from  the  direction  of  the  black- 
smith shop.  The  mules  they  had  seen  waiting  to 
be  shod  ambled  ahead  at  a  pace  warranted  to 
bring  them  to  the  towpath  in  time.  Behind,  at 
the  same  gait,  came  a  tall,  shambling  man,  what 
appeared  to  be  a  girl  some  twelve  years  of  age 
in  tattered  calico,  and  shoeless,  and  a  droop- 
eared,  forlorn,  yellow  hound. 

**Hist!'*  said  Sanuny,  down  the  well  of  the 
hold. 

Dot  did  not  know  just  what  to  reply  to  this 
thrilling  sununons,  but  she  ventured  to  ask: 

**Do  you  want  to  say  something  to  me,  Sammy 
Pinkney?    For  if  you  do,  you  can.*' 

**Hist!  Keep  quiet,"  ordered  the  pirate  chief. 
** They're — they're  in  the  offing." 

**Wha — what's  a  offling?"  she  demanded. 
**We're  orphans — Kuthie,  and  Aggie,  and  Tess, 
and  me.  So's  Mr.  Luke  and  Cecile.  And  so's 
Neale  O'Neil,"  she  added  thoughtfully.  **Is  an 
oflQing  like  an  orphan?" 


Aboard  the  Nancy  Hanks  103 

"Keep  still!"  hissed  the  boy.  **  They 're 
nearer." 

*' Who's  nearer?" 

"Shall  I  make  'em  heave  to  when  they  come 
near  'nough,  or  shall  we  let  'em  go  on  and  give 
chase?" 

"Goodness  me,  Sammy!"  cried  Dot,  greatly 
puzzled.  "You'd  better  come  right  down  here. 
If  anybody's  coming  we  don't  want  to  get  into 
trouble.  You  know  we  didn't  ask  the  man  if  we 
could  come  into  this  boat,  and  perhaps  he  don't 
like  pirates." 

This  idea  appealed  to  Sammy,  too,  as  the  mules 
and  the  little  company  with  them  drew  near.  He 
slipped  over  the  edge  of  the  hatchway  and  came 
down  the  ladder. 

Overhead  a  threatening  black  cloud  had  ob- 
scured the  sun.  Thunder  muttered  in  the  dis- 
tance. A  tempest  would  probably  break  soon  and 
neither  Sammy  nor  Dot  liked  thunder  and  light- 
ning. 

"And  we  didn't  bring  any  umbrella,  Sammy 
Pinkney!"  gasped  Dot. 

"Aw,  we  won't  need  one  down  here.  We'll  be 
dry  enough,"  the  boy  declared. 

Just  then  a  drawling  voice  said:  "Lowise,  yon 
better  pull  over  that  hatch  right  smart.  It's  a- 
goin*  to  pour  cats  and  dogs  in  a  minute." 

"You  get  the  mewels  hitched  on.  Pap,"  said  a 
shriller  and  younger  voice.  "Where's  the  key  to 
the  house?    Give  it  here.    And  you,  Beauty,  come 


104    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

aboard.  Ain't  no  rabbits  fur  you  to  chase  so 
near  town  as  this." 

**0h,"  whispered  the  little  girl  below  in  the 
hold,  **they  have  come  on  to  our  boat  I'* 

**Hist!"  said  Sammy,  shakingly. 

**Do — do  people  do  that  to  pirates?"  demanded 
Dot,  anxiously.  **I — I  thought  we  were  going  to 
— to  get  on  to  other  people's  boats  and  make  them 
walk  over  a  board." 

**Walk  the  plank!"  hissed  Sammy. 

**And  aren't  we?" 

**Wait!"  commanded  the  pirate  chief  in  a  most 
threatening  tone. 

They  waited.  By  and  by  somebody  came  along 
and  kicked  the  hatch-cover  into  place  and  the  light 
was  suddenly  shut  out  of  the  hold.  At  the  same 
time  big  drops  of  rain  began  drumming  on  the 
deck  and  the  thunder  burst  forth  in  a  rolling  re- 
verberation overhead. 

"I  guess  we  will  wait,  Sammy  Pinkney!*' 
gasped  Dot,  nervously.  *' They've  shut  us  up 
down  here!" 


CHAPTER  XI 

AFLOAT  ON    THE   CANAL 

Dot  Kjinway  might  have  been  much  more 
frightened,  shut  into  the  canalboat  hold  in  the 
dark,  had  it  not  been  for  two  things.  She  was 
more  afraid  of  the  thunderstorm  raging  overhead 
than  she  was  of  the  dark.  Secondly,  she  had  Sam- 
my Pinkney  with  her. 

That  savage  pirate  might  shake  with  nervous- 
ness, but  he  certainly  could  not  be  afraid! 

"Don't  you  mind,  Dottie,"  he  said  to  her. 
"They  don't  know  we're  here  yet." 

"And  if  they  do  find  out?"  she  asked. 

"Why,  if  they  do —  Well,  ain't  we  pirates?" 
demanded  Sanmiy  boldly.  "I  guess  when  they 
find  that  out  they'll  sing  pretty  small.  Besides, 
there's  only  one  man  and  a  dog." 

"But  isn't  there  a  girl?"  asked  Dot  doubtfully. 

"Pooh!  what's  a  girl?"  demanded  Sammy 
loftily.    "Girls  don't  count.    They  can't  fight." 

"No-o.  I  s'pose  not,"  admitted  the  smallest 
Corner  House  girl,  who  knew  very  well  that  she 
could  not  fight.  She  was  willing  to  cook,  wash 
and  keep  house  for  pirates ;  but  Sammy  must  do 
the  fighting. 

However,  Sammy  Pinkney  was  to  learn  some- 
thing about  the  canalboat  girl  that  would  open  his 

105 


106    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

eyes.  Just  at  this  time  something  occurred  that 
startled  both  runaways  so  greatly  that  they  even 
forgot  the  thunder  that  rolled  so  threateningly. 

The  canalboat  began  to  move ! 

**0h,  dear  me!  what  can  have  happened?'* 
gasped  Dot  as  the  boat  rocked  and  swayed  in 
being  poled  out  from  the  bank  by  the  boatman, 
and  the  mules  started  along  the  towpath. 

*  *  Je-ru-sa-lem ! "  murmured  Sammy. 

**0h,  Sammy!" 

* 'We're  going,"  said  the  boy,  gulping  down  his 
first  surprise. 

**But  where  are  we  going,  Sammy  Pinkneyt 
You  know  very  well  Ruthie  will  be  scared  to  death 
if  I'm  not  back  to  supper.    And  your  mother — " 

"Huh I"  exclaimed  Sammy,  with  returning 
valor,  ** didn't  I  tell  yon  if  we  ran  away  to  be 
pirates  that  we  couldn  't  go  home  again  ? ' ' 

''Yes!  but!  you!  didn't  ever  mean  it!"  wailed 
Dot,  with  big  gulps  between  her  words. 

"Of  course  I  meant  it.  Aw,  shucks.  Dot! 
What  did  I  tell  you?  Girls  can't  be  pirates. 
They're  always  blubbering." 

"Not  blubbering!"  snapped  Dot,  too  angry  to 
really  cry  after  all. 

"Well,  you  started  in  to." 

"No,  I  never!  Just  the  same  I  don't  want  to 
be  shut  up  in  this  old  boat — not  after  it  stops 
thundering  and  lightering,"  declared  Dot,  who, 
as  Tess  was  not  present,  felt  free  to  misuse  the 
English  language  just  as  she  pleased. 


Afloat  on  the  Canal  107 

Certainly  Sammy  Pinkney  had  something  more 
important  to  think  of  than  the  little  girl's  lan- 
guage. Here  he  was,  a  pirate  chief,  on  a  bucca- 
neering expedition,  and  somebody  had  come  along 
and  coolly  stolen  his  piratical  craft,  himself,  and 
his  crew! 

If  anything  would  rouse  the  spirit  of  a  pirate 
chief  it  was  such  an  emergency  as  this.  He  looked 
around  for  something  with  which  to  attack  the 
villains  who  had  boarded  the  Nancy  Hanks,  but 
he  found  not  a  thing  more  dangerous  than  his 
pocketknife  and  the  fishhooks. 

*'And  that's  your  fault.  Dot  Kenway,*'  he  de- 
clared, stricken  by  this  startling  discovery. 
*'How  am  I  going  to  fight  these — these  pirates,  if 
I  haven't  anything  to  fight  'em  with?" 

**0h,  Sammy  I"  cried  Dot,  in  amazement. 
•"'Are  they  pirates,  just  the  same  as  we  are  pi- 
rates?" 

**They  must  be,"  frankly  admitted  Sammy. 
"Else  they  wouldn't  have  come  along  and  stolen 
this  canalboat." 

**Oo-ee!"  gasped  the  little  girl.  **And  do  pi- 
rates steal?" 

**Huh!"  ejaculated  the  boy  in  vast  disgust. 
**What  did  you  suppose  they  was  pirates  for? 
Of  course  they  steal!  And  they  murder  folks, 
and  loot  towns,  and  then  bury  their  money  and 
kill  folks  so's  their  ghosts  will  hang  around  the 
buryin'  place  and  watch  the  treasure." 

Horror  stricken  at  the  details  of  such  a  wicked 


108    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

state  of  things,  Dot  could  not  for  the  moment 
reply.  They  heard  faintly  a  shrill  voice — evi- 
dently of  the  **Lowise"  formerly  addressed  by 
the  canalboatman. 

**Look  out,  Pap!  Low  bridge!  Goin'  to  stop 
at  Purdy's  to  git  that  mess  of  'taters  he  said  he'd 
have  ready  for  us?" 

There  was  a  grumbling  reply  from  the  man. 

**Dunno.  It's  rainin'  so  hard.  Might's  well 
keep  right  on  to  Durginville,  I  reckon,  Lowise. ' ' 

"Durginville!"  murmured  Sammy.  **MyI 
that's  a  long  way  off,  Dot!" 

**  And  are  you  going  to  let  'em  carry  us  off  this 
way?"  demanded  the  little  girl  in  growing  alarm 
and  disgust.  "Why,  I  thought  you  were  a  pi- 
rate!" 

If  pirates  were  such  dreadful  people  as  Sammy 
had  just  intimated,  she  wanted  to  see  him  exercise 
some  of  that  savagery  in  this  important  matter. 
Dot  Kenway  had  not  considered  being  kidnapped 
and  carried  away  from  Milton  when  she  set  forth 
to  be  a  pirate's  mate.  She  expected  him  to  de- 
fend her  from  disaster. 

Sammy  saw  the  point.  It  was  "  up  to  him, ' '  and 
he  was  too  much  of  a  man  to  shirk  the  issue. 
After  all,  he  realized  that,  although  actually  led 
away  from  home  by  this  determined  little  girl,  he 
was  the  one  who  had  fully  understood  the  enor- 
mity of  what  they  were  doing.  In  his  own  un- 
uttered  but  emphatic  phrase,  '*She  was  only  a 
kid." 


Afloat  on  the  Canal  109 

**A11  right,  Dot,"  he  declared  with  an  assump- 
tion of  confidence  that  he  certainly  did  not  feel. 
"I'll  see  about  our  getting  out  of  this  right  away. 
Of  course  we  won't  want  to  go  to  Durginville. 
And  it 's  stopping  raining  now,  anyway,  I  guess. ' ' 

The  sound  of  the  thunder  was  rolling  away  into 
the  distance.  But  other  sounds,  too,  seemed  to 
have  retreated  as  Sammy  climbed  the  ladder  to 
reach  the  hatch-cover.  The  hatchway  was  all  of 
six  feet  square.  The  heavy  plank  cover  that  fitted 
tightly  over  it,  was  a  weight  far  too  great  for  a 
ten  year  old  boy  to  lift. 

Sammy  very  soon  made  this  discovery.  Dot, 
scarcely  able  to  see  him  from  below,  the  hold  was 
so  dark,  made  out  that  he  was  balked  by  some- 
thing. 

**  Can't  you  budge  it,  Sammy?"  she  asked  ^anx- 
iously. 

**I — I  guess  it's  locked,"  he  puffed. 

**Oo-ee!"  she  gasped.  **  Holler,  Sammy  I 
Holler!" 

Sammy  ** hollered."  He  was  getting  worried 
himself  now.  It  was  bad  enough  to  contemplate 
facing  a  man  who  might  not  be  fond  of  pirates 
— even  small  ones.  But  if  they  could  not  get  out 
of  the  hold  of  the  canalboat,  they  would  not  be 
able  to  face  the  man  or  anybody  else. 

The  thought  struck  terror  to  the  very  soul  of 
Sammy.  Had  he  been  alone  he  certainly  would 
have  done  a  little  of  that  "blubbering"  that  he 
had  just  now  accused  Dot  of  doing.    But  "with  a 


110    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

girl  looking  on  a  fellow  couldn't  really  give  way 
to  unmanly  tears.'* 

He  began  to  pound  on  the  hatch  with  his  lists 
and  yell  at  the  top  of  his  voice : 

*  *  Lemme  out !    Lemme  out ! '  * 

*  *  Oh,  Sammy, '  *  came  the  aggrieved  voice  of  Dot 
from  below.  "Ask  'em  to  let  us  both  out.  I 
don't  want  to  be  left  here  alone." 

**Aw,  who's  leavin'  you  here  alone?"  growled 
the  boy. 

In  fact,  there  seemed  little  likelihood  of  either 
of  them  getting  out.  There  was  not  a  sound 
from  outside,  save  a  faint  shout  now  and  then 
of  the  shrill-voiced  girl  driving  the  mules. 

The  man  had  gone  aft  and  was  smoking  his  pipe 
as  he  sat  easily  on  the  broad  tiller-arm.  Sammy 
and  Dot  had  descended  into  the  canalboat  hold  by 
the  forward  hatchway  and  only  the  hollow  echoes: 
of  their  voices  drummed  through  the  hold  of  the 
old  barge,  disturbing  the  man  not  at  all,  while  the 
girl  was  too  far  ahead  on  the  towpath,  spattering 
through  the  mud  at  the  mules'  heels,  to  notice 
anything  so  weak  as  the  cries  of  the  youthful  stow- 
aways. 

Exhausted,  and  with  scratched  fists,  Sammy 
tumbled  down  the  ladder  again.  There  was  just 
enough  light  around  the  hatch  to  make  the  gloom 
where  the  boy  and  girl  stood  a  sort  of  murky 
brown  instead  of  the  oppressive  blackness  of  the 
hold  all  about  them. 


Afloat  on  the  Oanal  111 

Dot  shuddered  as  she  tried  to  pierce  the  sur- 
rounding darkness.  There  might  be  most  any- 
thing in  that  hold — creeping,  crawling,  biting 
things !  She  was  beginning  to  lose  her  confidence 
in  Sammy's  ability,  pirate  or  no  pirate,  to  get 
them  out  of  this  difficult  place. 

**0h,  Sammy!"  she  gulped.  **I — ^I  guess  I 
don't  want  to  be  pirates  any  longer.  I — ^I  want  to 
go  home." 

*  *  Aw,  hush,  Dot !  Ciying  won 't  help, ' '  growled 
the  boy. 

*'But — 'but  we  can't  stay  here  all  night!"  she 
wailed.  **It's  lots  wusser'n  it  was  when  Tess 
and  I  was  losted  and  we  slept  out  under  a  tree  till 
morning,  and  that  old  owl  hollered  'Who?  Who-o! 
all  night — only  I  went  to  sleep  and  didn't  hear 
him.    But  I  couldn't  sleep  here." 

**Aw,  there  ain't  no  owl  here,"  said  Sammy, 
with  some  dim  idea  of  comforting  his  comrade. 

**But  mebbe  there's — there's  rats!"  whispered 
the  little  girl,  voicing  the  fear  that  had  already 
clutched  at  her  very  soul. 

"Wow!"  ejaculated  Sammy.  But  his  scornful 
tone  failed  to  ring  true.  Th«re  really  might  be 
rats  in  this  old  hulk  of  a  barge.  Were  not  rats 
supposed  to  infest  the  holds  of  all  ships?  Afloat 
with  a  cargo  of  rats  in  the  hold  of  a  ship  on  the 
tossing  canal  was  nothing  to  laugh  at. 

**I — I  believe  there  are  rats  here,"  sobbed  Dot 
again.    **  And — and  we  can't  get  out.    If — if  they 


112    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

come  and — and  nibble  me,  Sammy  Pinkney,  I'll 
ne-never  forgive  you  for  taking  me  away  off  to  be 
pirates.'* 

'  *  Oh,  goodness,  Dot  Kenway !  Who  wanted  you 
to  come?  I'm  sure  I  didn't.  I  knew  girls 
couldn't  be  pirates." 

**I'm  just  as  good  a  one  as  you  are — so  now!'* 
she  snapped,  recovering  herself  somewhat. 

Sammy  found  something  just  then  in  his  pocket 
that  he  thought  might  aid  matters.  It  was  a  bag 
of  ''gumballs." 

**0h,  say,  Dot !  have  a  ball?"  he  asked  thrusting 
out  the  bag  in  the  dark. 

**0h,  Sammy!  Thanks!"  She  found  one  of 
the  confections  and  immediately  had  such  a  sticky 
and  difficult  mouthful  that  it  was  impossible  for 
her  either  to  cry  or  talk  for  some  time.  This 
certainly  was  a  relief  to  Sammy! 

He  could  give  his  mind  now  to  thinking.  And 
no  small  boy  ever  had  a  more  difficult  problem 
to  solve.  Two  youngsters  in  the  hold  of  this 
huge  old,  empty  canalboat,  the  deck  planks  of 
which  seemed  so  thick  that  nobody  outside  could 
hear  their  cries,  and  unable  to  lift  the  cover. 
Query:  How  to  obtain  their  release? 

Sammy  had  read  stories  of  stowaways  who  had 
wonderful  adventures  in  the  holds  of  ships.  But 
he  did  not  just  fancy  climbing  around  in  this 
black  hold,  or  exploring  it  in  any  way  far  from 
the  hatch-weU.  There  might  be  rats  here,  just  as 
Dot  suggested. 


Afloat  on  the  Canal  113 

Of  conrse,  they  were  m  no  immediate  danger 
of  starvation.  His  two  dollars  so  lavishly  spent 
drove  the  ghost  of  hunger  far,  far  away.  But,  to 
tell  the  truth,  just  at  this  time  Sammy  Pinkney 
did  not  feel  as  though  he  would  ever  care  much 
about  eating. 

Even  the  gumballs  did  not  taste  so  delicious  as 
he  had  expected.  Anxiety  rode  him  hard — and 
the  harder  because  he  felt,  after  all,  that  the  re- 
sponsibility of  Dot  Kenway^s  being  here  rested 
upon  his  shoulders.  She  would  never  have 
thought  of  running  away  to  be  pirates  all  by  her- 
self.   That  was  a  fact  that  could  not  be  gainsaid. 

Meanwhile  the  canalboat  was  being  drawn 
farther  and  farther  away  from  Milton.  Sammy 
did  not  wish  to  go  with  it,  any  more  than  Dot 
did.  The  situation  was  **up  to  him"  indeed — 
the  boy  felt  it  keenly;  but  he  had  no  idea  as  to 
what  he  should  do  to  escape  from  this  unfor- 
tunate imprisonment. 


CHAPTER  Xn 

MISSING 

Agnes  and  Cecile  had  gone  down  town  on  a 
brief  shopping  trip,  and  Ruth,  with  Luke  Shepard, 
was  on  the  wide  veranda  of  the  old  Corner  House. 

The  great  front  yard  that  had  been  weed  grown 
and  neglected  when  the  Kenway  sisters  and  Aunt 
Sarah  had  come  here  to  live,  was  now  a  well  kept 
lawn,  the  grass  and  paths  the  joint  care  of  Uncle 
Rufus  and  Neale  O'Neil.  For  nowadays  Neale 
had  time  to  do  little  other  work  than  that  of 
running  the  Kenways'  car  and  working  about  the 
old  Corner  House  when  he  was  not  at  school. 

Ruth  was  busy,  of  course,  with  some  sewing, 
for  she,  like  Aunt  Sarah,  did  not  believe  in  being 
entirely  idle  while  one  gossiped.  Whenever  Ruth 
looked  up  from  her  work  there  was  somebody 
passing  along  Main  Street  or  Willow  Street  whom 
she  knew,  and  who  bowed  or  spoke  to  the  Corner 
House  girl. 

**You  have  such  hosts  of  friends.  Miss  Ruth,** 
Luke  Shepard  said.  "I  believe  you  Comer 
House  girls  must  be  of  that  strange  breed  of  folk 
who  are  'universally  popular.'  I  have  rather 
doubted  their  existence  until  now." 

**You  are  a  flatterer,"  Ruth  accused  him,  smil- 

114 


Missing  115 

ing.  **I  am  sure  you  and  Cecile  make  friends 
quite  as  easily  as  we  do. ' ' 

**But  Grantham  is  not  MQton.  There  are  only 
a  handful  of  people  there. '  * 

Ruth  bit  off  a  thread  thoughtfully. 

**  Cecile  was  telling  us  about  *  Neighbor*  last 
evening,"  she  said. 

Luke  flushed  quickly  and  he  looked  away  from 
the  girl  for  a  moment. 

"Oh!"  he  said.  **The  poor  old  gentleman  is  a 
character. '  * 

**But  a  very  good  friend  of  yours?" 

**I  am  not  so  sure  about  that,"  and  Luke  tried 
to  laugh  naturally.  **To  tell  the  truth  I'm  afraid 
he's  a  bit  cracked,  don't  you  know." 

**0h,  you  do  not  mean  that  he  is  really — er — 
crazy  ? ' ' 

*'No.  Though  they  say — somebody  has — that 
we  are  most  of  us  a  little  crazy.  Neighbor  North- 
rup  is  more  than  a  little  peculiar.  Cecile  told 
you  he  is  a  woman-hater?" 

"Yes.  And  that  he  carries  his  hatred  to  ex- 
tremes." 

"I  should  say  he  does!"  exclaimed  Luke  with 
vast  disgust.  "He  wants  me  to  promise  never  to 
marry. ' ' 

"Well?" 

"My  goodness,  Miss  Ruth!  You  say  that 
calmly  enough.  How  would  you  like  to  be  nagged 
in  such  a  way  continually?  It's  no  fun  I  can 
assure  you." 


116    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Bnth  laughed  one  of  her  hearty,  delightful 
laughs  that  made  even  the  vexed  Luke  join  in. 

"It's  like  Aunt  Sarah,'*  confessed  Kuth.  **She 
thinks  very  poorly  of  men,  and  is  always  advis- 
ing Agnes  and  me  to  *  escape  the  wrath  to  come* 
by  joining  the  spinster  sisterhood." 

**But  you  haven't — yon  wonHf  gasped  Luke 
in  horror. 

At  that  the  oldest  Comer  House  girl  laughed 
again,  and  Luke  found  himself  flushing  and  feel- 
ing rather  shamefaced. 

**0h,  well,"  he  said,  **you  know  what  I  mean. 
You  girls  wouldn't  really  be  influenced  by  such 
foolishness  ? ' ' 

** Doesn't  Neighbor  influence  you  1"  Kuth  asked 
him  quickly. 

**No,  indeed.  Not  even  when  he  tries  to  bribe 
me.    He  can  keep  his  old  money." 

**But  he  has  been  your  good  friend,"  the  girl 
said  slowly  and  thoughtfully.  '*And  Cecile  says 
he  has  promised  to  do  much  for  you." 

**Ajid  if  he  got  tiffed  he  would  refuse  to  do  a 
thing.  Oh,  I  know  Neighbor!"  growled  Luke. 
**Yet  you  must  not  think,  Miss  Euth,"  he  added 
after  a  moment,  ''that  I  do  not  appreciate  what 
he  has  already  done  for  me.  He  is  the  kindest  old 
fellow  alive,  get  him  off  the  subject  of  women. 
But  he  must  have  been  hurt  very  much  by  a  woman 
when  he  was  young — he  never  speaks  about  it, 
but  so  I  surmise — and  he  cannot  forget  his  hatred 
^f  the  sex. 


*I  shall  begin  to  believe  you  are  a  man-liater,'  laughed 
Luke" 


Missing  lit 

**  Why,"  continued  the  young  man,  "if  it  would 
do  him  a  bit  of  good — ^my  promising  never  to 
marry — any  good  in  the  world,  there 'd  be  some 
sense  in  thinking  of  it.  But  it's  downright  fool- 
ishness— and  I'll  never  agree,"  and  the  young 
fellow  shook  his  head  angrily. 

*'If  it  would  cure  him  of  any  disease,  or  the 
like,  I  might  be  coaxed  to  wear  blinders  so  as  not 
to  see  the  pretty  girls  at  all,"  and  Luke  tried  to 
laugh  it  off  again.  "But  he's  wrong — ^utterly 
wrong.  And  old  folks  should  not  be  encouraged 
in  wrong  doing." 

"You  feel  yourself  susceptible  to  the  charms  of 
pretty  girls,  then,"  suggested  Ruth,  smiling  down 
at  her  sewing. 

He  tried  to  see  her  full  expression,  but  could 
see  only  the  smile  wreathing  her  lips. 

"Well,  now.  Miss  Ruth,"  he  said,  in  defense, 
"who  isn't  made  happier  by  seeing  a  pretty  and 
cheerful  face?" 

"Some  of  them  say  they  are  made  miserable 
for  life  by  such  a  sight,"  Ruth  declared  demurely. 
"Or,  is  it  only  a  manner  of  speaking?" 

"I  shall  begin  to  believe  you  are  a  man-hater, 
just  as  Neighbor  is  a  woman-hater,"  laughed 
Luke. 

"I  have  my  doubts,"  confessed  Ruth.  "But 
you,  Luke,  have  your  own  way  to  win  in  life,  and 
if  this  man  can  and  will  help  you,  shouldn't  you 
be  willing  to  give  up  a  little  thing  like  that  for 
policy's  sake?" 


118    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**A  little  thing  like  whatf"  exclaimed  Luke 
Shepard,  rather  warmly. 

**Why — er — getting  married,'*  and  Euth  Ken- 
way's  eyes  danced  as  she  looked  at  him  again  for 
an  instant. 

**The  greatest  thing  in  the  world!"  he  almost 
shouted. 

**You  mean  love  is  the  greatest  thing  in  the 
world, ' '  said  Euth  still  demurely  smiling.  * '  They 
say  marriage  hasn't  much  to  do  with  that — some- 
times." 

**I  believe  you  are  pessimistic  regarding  the 
marriage  state." 

**I  don't  know  anything  about  it.  Never 
thought  of  it,  really." 

Tess  just  then  came  singing  through  the  house, 
having  been  to  see  Miss  Ann  Titus,  the  dress- 
maker, regarding  certain  dresses  that  were  to  be 
got  ready  for  the  little  girls  to  wear  to  school. 
She  had  refused  to  tell  Dot  where  she  was  going 
because  one  of  the  dresses  was  to  be  a  surprise  to 
the  smallest  Corner  House  girl. 

It  needed  no  seer  to  discover  that  Tess  had  been 
to  see  the  seamstress.  She  was  a  polite  little  girl 
and  she  did  not  like  to  break  in  upon  other  people 's 
conversation;  but  she  was  so  chock  full  of  news 
that  some  of  it  had  to  spill  over. 

**D'juno,  Euthie,  that  Mr.  Sauer,  the  milkman 
got  'rested  because  he  didn't  have  enough  milk 
in  his  wagon  to  serve  his  customers?  The  in- 
spector said  he  didn't  have  a  license  to  peddle 


Missing  119 

water,  and  he  took  him  down  to  the  City  Hall.'* 

**I  had  not  heard  of  it,  Tess,  no,"  replied  her 
older  sister. 

"You  know  that  awfully  big  man,  Mr.  Atkins — 
the  awfully  fat  man,  you  know,  who  is  a  lawyer, 
or  something,  and  always  walks  down  town  for 
exercise,  and  I  s'pose  he  needs  it?  He  stepped  on 
a  banana  peel  on  Purchase  Street  the  other  day 
and  almost  fell.  And  if  he  had  fallen  on  that  hard 
walk  I  'most  guess  he'd  've  exploded." 

*'0h,  Tessiel"  exclaimed  Ruth,  while  Luke 
laughed  openly. 

"  And  d'juno,  Ruthie,  that  they  are  going  to  stop 
people  from  keeping  pigs  inside  the  city  limits? 
Mr.  Con  Murphy  can't  have  his  any  more,  either. 
For  the  other  day  a  pig  that  belonged  to  Hemstret, 
the  butcher,  got  away  and  scared  folks  awful  on 
Deering  Street,  'cause  he  looked  as  though  he  had 
the  yaller  janders — " 

**The  what?"  gasped  her  sister,  while  Luke 
actually  roared. 

"The  yaller  janders,"  repeated  Tessie. 

"Do  you  mean  the  yellow  jaundice?  Though 
how  a  pig  could  get  such  a  disease — " 

"Maybe.  Anyway  he  was  all  yellow,"  Tess 
went  on  excitedly.  *  *  'Cause  some  boys  took  some 
ock-er-ra  paint  out  of  Mr.  Timmins'  shop — Tim- 
mins,  the  lame  man,  you  know — and  painted  him 
and  then  let  him  out. '  * 

"Painted  Mr.  Timmins — the  lame  man?" 
gasped  Luke,  in  the  midst  of  his  laughter. 


120    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

"No.  The  pig  that  I  was  telling  you  about," 
said  the  small  girL  "And  Mrs.  Bogert  says  that 
the  next  time  Bogert  goes  to  the  lodge  and  stays 
till  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  she's  going  home 
to  her  mother  and  take  the  children  with  her,"  and 
Tess  ended  this  budget  of  news  almost  breathless. 

Ruth  had  to  laugh,  too,  although  she  did  not 
approve  of  the  children  carrying  such  gossip. 
"I  should  know  you  had  called  upon  Miss  Ann 
Titus,"  she  observed.  "I  hope  you  didn't  hear 
anything  worse  than  this." 

"I  heard  her  canary  sing,"  confessed  Tess; 
"and  her  little  dog,  Wopsy,  was  snoring  dread- 
fully on  the  sofa.  But  I  guess  I  didn't  hear  any- 
thing else.    Where's  Dot!" 

"I'm  sure  I  do  not  know,"  Ruth  said  placidly, 
while  Luke  wiped  his  eyes,  still  chuckling  in  a 
subdued  way.  He  saw  that  he  was  beginning  to 
hurt  Tess'  feelings  and  he  was  too  kind-hearted 
to  wish  to  do  that.  "Dot  must  be  somewhere 
about  the  house." 

Tess  went  to  look  for  her.  Her  tender  con- 
science punished  her  for  having  spoken  to  her 
little  sister  so  shortly  when  she  was  starting  on 
her  errand  to  Miss  Ann  Titus.  But  how  else  could 
she  have  gotten  rid  of  the  "tagging"  Dorothy? 

Just  now,  however.  Dot  seemed  to  have  mys- 
teriously disappeared.  Nobody  had  seen  her  for 
more  than  an  hour.  Tess  went  to  the  fence  be- 
tween their  own  and  the  Creamers'  yard  and 
"hoo-hooed"  until  Mabel  appeared. 


Missing  121 

"Ain't  seen  her,**  declared  that  young  person, 
shaking  her  head.  "I  tried  to  get  you  and  her 
over  here  a  long  time  ago.  My  mother  let  me 
make  some  'lasses  taffy,  and  I  wanted  you  and 
Dot  to  come  and  help.  But  I  had  to  do  it  all 
alone." 

*'Was  it  good!"  asked  Tess,  longingly. 

"It  looked  luscious,"  admitted  Mabel  scowling. 
**But  that  young  'un  got  at  it  when  it  was  cooling 
on  the  porch  and  filled  it  full  of  graveL  I  broke 
a  tooth  trying  to  eat  a  piece.    Want  some,  Tess? " 

**No-o,"  Tess  said.  "I  guess  not.  I  must  find 
Dot." 

But  she  did  not  find  Dot.  She  wandered  back 
to  the  front  of  the  Comer  House  just  as  Mrs. 
Pinkney,  rather  wild-eyed  and  disheveled,  ap- 
peared at  the  side  fence  on  Willow  Street  and 
called  to  Kuth: 

"Have  you  seen  Sammy  t" 

"Have  you  seen  Dot?"  repeated  Tess,  quite  as 
earnestly. 

Ruth  was  finally  shaken  out  of  her  composure. 
She  rose  from  her  seat,  folding  the  work  in  her 
lap,  and  demanded: 

"What  do  you  suppose  has  become  of  them? 
For  of  course,  if  neither  Sammy  nor  Dot  can  be 
found,  they  have  gone  off  somewhere  together.'* 


CHAPTER  Xin 

THE  HUE  AND   CBY 

Ruth  Kenway's  suggestion  bore  the  stamp  of 
common  sense,  and  even  the  excited  mother  of 
Sammy  Pinkney  accepted  that  as  a  fact.  Sammy 
had  been  playing  almost  exclusively  with  the  little 
Corner  House  girls  of  late  (quite  to  his  anxious 
mother's  satisfaction,  be  it  said)  and  if  Dot  was 
absent  the  boy  was  in  all  probability  with  her. 

**Well,  he  certainly  cannot  have  got  into  much 
mischief  with  little  Dorothy  along,"  sighed  Mrs. 
Pinkney,  relieved.  **But  I  most  certainly  shall 
punish  him  when  he  comes  back,  for  I  forbade  his 
leaving  the  yard  this  morning.  And  I  shall  tell 
his  father." 

This  last  promise  made  Tess  look  very  serious. 
It  was  the  most  threatening  speech  that  the  good 
woman  ever  addressed  to  Sammy.  Mr.  Pinkney 
seemed  a  good  deal  like  a  bugaboo  to  the  little 
Corner  House  girls;  he  was  held  over  Sammy's 
head  often  as  a  threat  of  dire  punishment.  Sam- 
my and  his  father,  however,  seemed  to  under- 
stand each  other  pretty  well. 

Sammy  had  once  confided  to  the  little  Corner 
House  girls  that  **We  men  have  to  hang  to- 
gether"; and  although  he  respected  his  father, 
and  feared  what  the  latter  might  do  in  the  way 

122 


The  Hue  and  Cry  123 

of  punishment,  the  punishment  was  usually  in- 
flicted by  Mrs.  Pinkney,  after  all. 

Sometimes  when  his  mother  considered  that  the 
boy  had  been  extraordinarily  naughty  and  she  told 
the  fact  to  his  father,  that  wise  man  would  take 
his  son  by  the  hand  and  walk  away  with  him. 
Sammy  always  started  on  one  of  these  walks  with 
a  most  serious  expression  of  countenance;  but 
whatever  was  said  to  him,  or  done  to  him,  during 
these  absences,  Sammy  always  returned  with  a 
cheerful  mien  and  with  a  pocketful  of  goodies  for 
himself  and  something  extra  nice  for  his  mother. 

Neale  O'Neil  frequently  declared  that  Mr.  Pink- 
ney was  one  of  the  wisest  men  of  his  time  and 
probably  "put  it  all  over  old  Solomon.  They  say 
Solomon  had  a  lot  of  wives,"  Neale  remarked. 
"But  I  bet  he  didn't  know  half  as  much  about 
women  and  how  to  handle  them  as  Mr.  Pinkney 
does." 

However,  to  get  back  to  the  discovery  of  the 
absence  of  Sammy  and  Dot.  After  Tess  had 
searched  the  neighborhood  without  finding  any 
trace  of  them,  and  Agnes  had  returned  from  down 
town,  a  council  was  held. 

"Why,  they  did  not  even  take  Tom  Jonah  with 
them,"  observed  Ruth. 

"If  they  had,"  said  Agnes,  almost  ready  to 
weep,  "we  would  be  sure  they  were  not  really 
lost." 

"Can't  you  find  out  at  the  police  station?" 
suggested  Cecile. 


124    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**0h,  my!  Oh  my!*'  cried  Tess,  in  horror. 
**Yoii  don't  8 'pose  onr  Dot  has  really  been  ar- 
restedr' 

** Listen  to  the  child!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Pinkney, 
kissing  her.  "Of  course  not.  The  young  lady 
means  that  the  police  may  help  find  them.  But 
I  do  not  know  what  Sam'l  Pinkney  would  say  if 
he  thought  the  ofiScers  had  to  look  for  his  son." 

Ruth,  in  her  usual  decisive  way,  brooked  no 
further  delay.  Surely  the  missing  boy  and  girl 
had  not  gone  straight  up  into  the  air,  nor  had 
they  sunk  into  the  ground.  They  could  not  have 
traveled  far  away  from  the  comer  of  Willow  and 
Main  Streets  without  somebody  seeing  them  who 
would  remember  the  fact. 

She  went  to  the  telephone  and  began  calling  up 
people  whom  she  knew  all  about  town,  and  after 
explaining  to  Central  the  need  for  her  inquiries, 
that  rather  tart  young  person  did  all  in  her  power 
to  give  Ruth  quick  connections. 

Finally  she  remembered  Mrs.  Kranz.  Dot  and 
Sammy  might  have  gone  to  Meadow  Street,  for 
many  of  their  schoolmates  lived  in  the  tenements 
along  that  rather  poor  thoroughfare. 

Maria  Maroni  answered  the  telephone  and  she, 
of  course,  had  news  of  the  lost  children. 

^^Why,  Miss  Ruth,"  asked  the  little  Italian  girl 
into  the  transmitter,  "wasn't  you  going  on  the 
picnic,  too?" 

"What  picnic?"  asked  the  eldest  Comer  House 
girl  at  the  other  end  of  the  wire. 


The  Hue  and  Cry  125 

**Mrs.  Kranz  says  Dottie  and  that  little  boy 
were  going  on  a  picnic.  Sure  they  were !  I  sold 
them  crackers  and  cheese  and  a  lot  of  things. 
And  my  father  sent  you  a  basket  of  fruit  like  he 
always  does.  We  thought  you  and  Miss  Agnes 
would  be  going,  too. ' ' 

Euth  reported  this  to  the  others ;  but  the  puzzle 
of  the  children's  absence  seemed  not  at  all  ex- 
plained. Nobody  whom  Ruth  and  Agnes  asked 
seemed  to  know  any  picnic  slated  for  this  day. 

**They  must  have  made  it  up  themselves — aU 
their  own  selves,"  Agnes  declared.  **They  have 
gone  off  alone  to  picnic." 

"Where  would  they  be  likely  to  got"  asked 
Luke  Shepard,  wishing  to  be  helpfuL  "Is  there  a 
park  over  that  way — or  some  regular  picnicking 
grounds?" 

"There's  the  canal  bank,"  Kuth  said  quickly. 
"It's  open  fields  along  there.  Sometimes  the 
children  have  gone  there  with  us." 

"I  just  know  Sammy  has  fallen  in  and  been 
drowned,"  declared  Mrs.  Pinkney,  accepting  the 
supposition  as  a  fact  on  the  instant.  "What  will 
I  ever  say  to  Sam'l  to-night  when  he  comes 
home?" 

"Well,"  said  Tess,  encouragingly,  "I  guess  he 
won't  spank  Sammy  for  doing  that.  At  least,  I 
shouldn't  think  he  would." 

The  older  folk  did  not  pay  much  attention  to  her 
philosophy.  They  were  all  more  or  less  worried, 
including  Mrs.  MacCall  and  Aunt  Sarah.    The 


126    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

latter  displayed  more  trouble  over  Dot's  absence 
than  one  might  have  expected,  knomng  the  maiden 
lady's  usual  unattached  manner  of  looking  at  all 
domestic  matters. 

Ruth,  feehng  more  responsibility  after  all  than 
anybody  else — and  perhaps  with  more  anxious 
love  in  her  heart  for  Dot  than  the  others,  for  had 
she  not  had  the  principal  care  of  Dot  since  baby- 
hood?— could  not  be  convinced  now  that  all  they 
could  do  was  to  wait. 

** There  must  be  some  way  of  tracing  them," 
she  declared.  *'If  they  were  over  on  Meadow 
Street  somebody  must  have  seen  them  after  they 
left  Mrs.  Kranz's  store." 

**That  is  the  place  to  take  up  their  trail,  Ruth," 
Luke  said.  *'Tell  me  how  to  find  the  store  and 
I'U  go  down  there  and  make  enquiries." 

**I  will  go  with  you,"  the  eldest  Corner  House 
girl  said  quickly.  **I  know  the  people  there  and 
you  don't." 

''I'll  go,  tool"  cried  Agnes,  wiping  her  eyes. 

*'No,"  said  her  sister  decisively.  **No  use  in 
more  going.  You  remain  at  home  with  Tess  and 
Cecile.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you,  Luke.  We'll 
start  at  once." 

"And  without  your  lunch?"  cried  Mrs.  Mac- 
Call. 

Ruth  had  no  thought  for  lunch,  and  Luke  de- 
nied all  desire  for  the  midday  meal.  ''Come  on !" 
he  prophesied  boldly,  "we'll  find  those  kids  before 
we  eat." 


The  Hue  and  Cry  127 

**OhI*'  sighed  Agnes,  '*I  wish  Neale  O'Neil  had 
not  gone  fishing.  Then  he  could  have  chased 
around  in  the  automobile  and  found  those  naughty 
children  in  a  hurry." 

**He  would  not  know  where  to  look  for  them 
any  more  than  we  do,"  her  sister  said.  **A11 
ready,  Luke." 

They  set  off  briskly  for  the  other  side  of  town. 
Luke  said: 

**Wish  I  knew  how  to  run  an  auto  myself. 
That's  going  to  be  my  very  next  addition  to  the 
sum  of  my  knowledge.  I  could  have  taken  you 
out  in  your  car  myself.*' 

"Not  without  a  license  in  this  county,"  said 
Ruth.  ** And  we'll  do  very  well.  I /io^^e  nothing 
has  happened  to  these  children." 

"Of  course  nothing  has,"  he  said  comfortingly. 
"That  is,  nothing  that  a  little  soap  and  water  and 
a  spanking  won't  cure." 

"No.  Dot  has  never  been  punished  in  that 
way." 

"But  Sammy  has — oft  and  again,"  chuckled 
Luke.  "And  of  course  he  is  to  blame  for  this 
escapade.'* 

"I'm  not  altogether  sure  of  that,"  said  the  just 
Ruth,  who  knew  Dot's  temperament  if  anybody 
did.  "It  doesn't  matter  which  is  the  most  to 
blame.    I  want  to  find  them." 

But  this  was  a  task  not  easy  to  perform,  as 
they  soon  found  out  after  reaching  Meadow 
Street.    Certainly  Mrs.  Kranz  remembered  all 


128    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

abont  the  children  coining  to  her  store  that 
morning — all  but  one  thing.  She  stuck  to  it  that 
Dot  had  said  they  were  going  on  a  picnic.  The 
word  ** pirates'*  was  strange  to  the  ear  of  the 
German  woman,  so  having  misunderstood  it  the 
picnic  idea  was  firmly  fixed  in  her  mind. 

Maria  Maroni  had  been  too  busy  to  watch  which 
way  Dot  and  Sammy  went ;  nor  did  her  father  re- 
member this  important  point.  After  leaving  the 
store  the  runaways  seemed  to  have  utterly  disap- 
peared. 

Ruth  did  not  admit  this  woful  fact  until  she  had 
interviewed  almost  everybody  she  knew  in  the 
neighborhood,  Sadie  Goronofsky  and  her  broth- 
ers and  sisters  scattered  in  all  directions  to  find 
trace  of  Dot  and  Sammy.  There  was  a  mild  panic 
when  one  child  came  shrieking  into  Mrs.  Kranz's 
store  that  a  little  girl  with  a  dog  had  been  seen 
over  by  the  blacksmith  shop,  and  that  she  had  been 
carried  off  on  a  canalboat. 

"Them  canalboatmen  would  steal  anything,  you 
bet,*'  said  Sadie  Goronofsky,  with  confidence. 
"They're  awful  pad  men — sure!** 

Luke  went  down  to  the  blacksmith  shop  and 
learned  that  the  horseshoer  knew  exactly  who  the 
canalboatman  in  question  was.  And  he  knew 
about  the  little  girl  seen  with  him  as  well. 

"That's  Cap*n  Bill  Quigg  and  Louise.  She  is 
his  twelve  year  old  gal — and  as  smart  as  Bill  is 
lazy.  The  dog  belongs  to  them.  Ornery  hound. 
Wasn*t  anybody  with  them,  and  the  old  Ncmcy 


The  Hue  and  Cry  129 

Hanhs,  their  barge,  has  gone  on  toward  Durgin- 
ville.    Went  along  about  the  time  it  showered." 

The  thunderstorm  that  had  passed  lightly  over 
the  edge  of  Milton  had  occurred  before  Euth  and 
Luke  left  the  Corner  House.  This  news  which  the 
young  man  brought  back  from  the  blacksmith  shop 
seemed  not  to  help  the  matter  in  the  least.  He 
and  Euth  went  over  to  the  canal  and  asked  people 
whom  they  met.  Many  had  seen  the  canalboat 
going  toward  Durginville ;  but  nobody  had  spied 
Sammy  and  Dot. 

Where  else  could  they  go  with  any  reasonable 
hope  of  finding  trace  of  the  runaways?  Sammy 
and  Dot,  going  directly  across  the  open  fields  to 
the  moored  canalboat,  and  getting  aboard  that 
craft  and  into  the  hold,  their  small  figures  had  not 
been  spied  by  those  living  or  working  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. 

The  searchers  went  home,  Ruth  almost  in  tears 
and  Luke  vastly  perturbed  because  he  could  not 
really  aid  her.  Besides,  he  was  getting  very  much 
worried  now.  It  did  seem  as  though  something 
serious  must  have  happened  to  Sammy  Pinkney 
and  Dot  Kenway. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

AN    UNEXPECTED   DELIGHT 

Sammy  and  Dot,  held  prisoners  in  the  hold  of 
the  Nancy  Ranks,  made  one  painful  discovery  at 
least  They  learned  that  without  light  the  time 
passed  with  great  slowness. 

It  seemed  as  though  they  had  been  in  the  dark 
many  hours  longer  than  was  actually  the  case. 
They  sat  down  side  by  side  and  seriously  ate  all 
the  gumballs.  These  scarcely  satisfied  their 
youthful  appetites  and,  anyway,  as  Dot  said,  it 
must  be  supper  time. 

So  they  ate  all  of  the  provisions  they  could 
possibly  swallow.  This  attack  made  fearful  in- 
roads upon  the  stock  of  provisions.  There  was 
no  cheese  left,  few  of  the  animal  crackers,  and 
half  of  the  peanut  butter  was  literally  **  licked 
up,"  for  they  had  to  use  their  fingers. 

**Ho!"  said  Sammy,  "what's  the  odds?  Fin- 
gers was  made  before  spoons." 

**Not  our  fingers,  Sammy  Pinkney,"  retorted 
Dot.  **But  maybe  pirates  don't  mind  about  table 
manners." 

Just  then  her  boy  comrade  was  not  thinking 
much  about  the  pirate  play.  If  he  had  ever  felt 
that  he  was  fitted  to  rove  the  seas  under  the  Jolly 

130 


An  Unexpected  Delight  131 

Roger  banner,  on  a  career  of  loot  and  bloodshed, 
he  bad  quite  got  over  the  hallucination. 

He  wanted  to  go  home.  He  wanted  to  get  Dot 
home.  He  had  a  very  decided  belief  that  if  his 
father  interviewed  him  after  this  escapade  some- 
thing serious  would  happen  to  him. 

Dot,  having  recovered  from  her  first  fright,  and 
being  blessed  now  with  a  very  full  stomach,  began 
to  nod.  She  finally  fell  fast  asleep  with  her  head 
on  Sammy's  shoulder.  He  let  her  sink  down  on 
the  boards,  putting  the  sack  of  potatoes  and  his 
jacket  under  her  head  for  a  pillow. 

He  could  not  sleep  himself.  Of  course  not! 
He  must  keep  watch  aU  night  long.  No  knowing 
when  the  people  who  had  stolen  the  barge  might 
come  and  open  the  hatchway  and  attack  them. 
Sammy  was  quite  convinced  that  the  man  and  the 
girl  had  illegally  taken  possession  of  the  canal- 
boat. 

He  sat  beside  the  softly  breathing  Dot  and  lis- 
tened to  certain  rustling  sounds  in  the  hold,  won- 
dering fearfully  what  they  meant.  It  seemed  to 
him  that  no  rats  could  make  such  noises. 

"Might  be  wolves — or  snakes,"  thought  the  boy, 
and  shivered  desperately  as  he  sat  in  the  dark. 

The  canalboat  continued  to  go  its  blundering 
way,  and  scarcely  a  sound  from  out-of-doors 
reached  the  little  boy's  ears.  Captain  Bill  Quigg 
fell  asleep  at  the  rudder  arm  and  only  woke  up 
now  and  then  when  he  came  close  to  losing  his 
pipe  from  between  his  teeth.    **Lowise"  kept 


132    The  Corner  House  Girls  GroTsing  Up 

close  at  the  heels  of  the  ancient  mnles,  nrging  them 
with  voice  and  goad.  The  honnd,  misnamed 
Beauty,  slept  the  unhappy  sleep  of  the  flea-ridden 
dog. 

The  thunderstorm  had  cleared  the  air.  It  was 
a  beautiful  afternoon.  For  although  the  children 
in  the  hold  thought  it  long  past  their  usual  supper- 
time,  it  was  nothing  of  the  kind. 

The  air  in  the  hold  began  to  feel  close  and  it 
made  Sammy  very  sleepy  as  well  as  Dot.  But 
the  boy  was  faithful  to  his  trust.  He  propped  his 
eyelids  open  and  manfully  held  his  watch. 

Frightened?  Never  more  so,  was  Sammy  Pink- 
ney.  But  there  was  some  pluck  in  the  youngster 
and  he  felt  he  must  put  on  a  bold  front  before 
Dot. 

As  for  the  canalboat  captain  and  his  "crew,'* 
they  apparently  went  the  even  tenor  of  their  way. 
Cap'n  Bill  Quigg  was  not  a  very  smart  man — 
either  physically  or  mentally.  The  blacksmith  at 
Milton  had  told  Luke  Shepard  the  truth.  Little 
Louise  was  the  smartest  member  of  the  Quigg 
family,  which  consisted  only  of  herself,  her  father 
and  the  hound  dog,  Beauty. 

She  practically  "ran  the  business."  In  some 
way  Quigg  had  become  possessed  of  the  old  Nancy 
Hanks  and  the  mules.  He  plodded  back  and  forth 
from  one  end  of  the  canal  to  the  other,  taking 
such  freight  as  he  could  obtain.  If  there  chanced 
to  be  no  freight,  as  on  this  occasion,  he  was  quite 
philosophical  about  it. 


An  Unexpected  Delight  133 

Louise  worried.  She  was  of  a  keen,  anxious 
disposition,  anyway.  She  showed  it  in  her  face — 
a  hatchet-face  at  best  behind  the  plentiful  sprin- 
kling of  freckles  that  adorned  it.  But  by  no 
means  was  the  face  unattractive. 

She  had  had  little  schooling — only  such  as  she 
had  obtained  in  winter  when  the  Nancy  Hanks  was 
frozen  up  near  a  schoolhouse.  Then  she  studied 
with  avidity.  Had  she  ever  remained  long  enough 
for  the  teachers  really  to  get  acquainted  with  the 
shy,  odd  child,  she  might  have  made  good  friends. 
As  it  was,  she  knew  few  people  well  and  was  as 
ignorant  of  life  as  it  was  lived  by  comfortably 
situated  people  as  a  civilized  human  being  could 
be. 

She  had  begun  to  scheme  and  plan  for  daily 
existence,  and  to  keep  the  wolf  of  hunger  away 
from  the  door  of  the  canalboat  cabin,  when  she 
was  a  very  little  girl — no  older  than  Dot  Kenway 
herself,  in  fact.  Now  she  seemed  quite  grown  up 
when  one  talked  with  her,  despite  her  crass  ig- 
norance upon  most  subjects. 

This  afternoon  she  paddled  on  in  her  bare  feet 
through  the  mire  of  the  towpath,  while  the  thunder 
storm  passed  over  and  the  sun  came  out  again. 
As  she  urged  on  the  mules  she  was  planning  for 
a  delight  that  had  never  yet  entered  into  her 
crippled  life. 

She  had  not  urged  her  father  to  stop  for  the 
farmer's  potatoes,  whereas  on  any  other  occasion 
she  would  have  insisted  upon  doing  so.    A  dollar 


134    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

to  be  earned  was  an  important  thing  to  Louise 
Quigg. 

But  she  had  two  half  dollars  saved  and  hidden 
away  in  the  cabin.  She  had  squeezed  the  sum  out 
of  her  bits  of  housekeeping  money  during  the  past 
two  months.  For  all  that  time  the  dead  walls 
and  hoardings  about  Durginville  had  been  plas- 
tered with  announcements  of  a  happening  the 
thought  of  which  thrilled  little  Louise  Quigg  to 
the  very  tips  of  her  fingers  and  toes. 

When  they  reached  the  Bumstead  Lock  this  af- 
ternoon there  was  a  chance  for  the  girl  to  leave  the 
mules  grazing  beside  the  towpath  while  the  water 
rose  slowly  in  the  basin,  and  she  could  board  the 
boat  and  talk  with  Cap*n  Bill. 

The  hound,  awakened  by  her  approach,  began 
sniflBng  around  the  edge  of  the  forward  hatch 
cover. 

** Wonder  what  Beauty  gmells  there?'*  Louise 
said  idly.  But  her  mind  was  on  something  else. 
The  captain  shook  his  head  without  much  re- 
flection and,  now  more  thoroughly  awakened,  lit 
his  pipe  again. 

*'I  say,  Pap  I'* 

**Wal,  Lowisel"  he  drawled. 

**W6Ve  going  to  lay  up  to-night  short  of  the 
soapworks  at  Dur^nville." 

**Heh?"  he  demanded,  somewhat  surprised,  but 
still  drawling.    **What  for,  LowiseT' 

"I  want  to  hitch  there  by  the  Lawton  Pike." 


An  Unexpected  Delight  135 

**Lawsy,  Lowisel  you  don't  wanter  do  luo  sechi 
thing,*'  said  Cap'n  Bill. 

"Yes  I  do,  Pap.'* 

**Too  many  folks  goin'  to  be  there.  A  slather 
of  folks,  Lowise.  Why!  the  circus  grounds  is 
right  there.    This  is  the  day,  ain't  it?" 

'  *  That 's  it.  Pap.    I  want  to  see  the  circus. ' ' 

*  *  Lawsy,  Lowise ! ' '  the  man  stammered.  *  *  Cir- 
cuses ain't  for  we  folks." 

**Yes  they  are,  Pap." 

"Ain't  never  been  to  one  in  all  my  life,  Lowise," 
Cap'n  Bill  said  reflectively. 

**No  more  ain't  I,"  agreed  the  girl.  "But  I'm 
goin'  to  this  one." 

"You  goin'!"  he  demanded,  his  amazement 
growing. 

"Yes.    And  you're  goin'  too,  Pap." 

"Git  out!"  gasped  Cap'n  Bill,  actually  for- 
getting to  pull  on  his  pipe. 

"Yes,  you  are,"  declared  Louise  Quigg,  nodding 
her  head.  "  I  've  got  the  twx)  half  dollars.  Beauty 
will  stay  and  mind  the  boat.  I  jest  got  a  taste  in 
my  mouth  for  that  circus.  Seems  to  me.  Pap,  I'd 
jest  die  if  I  didn't  see  it." 

"Lawsy,  Lowise!"  murmured  Captain  Bill 
Quigg,  and  was  too  amazed  to  say  anything  more 
for  an  hour. 

The  Nancy  Hanks  got  through  the  lock  and  the 
mules  picked  up  the  slack  of  the  towrope  again  at 
Louise's  vigorous  suggestion.    Inside  the  hold 


136    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Sammy  and  Dot  both  wondered  about  the  stopping 
of  the  boat.    Dot  was  awakened  by  this. 

** Sammy,"  she  murmured,  **is  it  morning! 
Have  we  been  here  all  night  ? ' ' 

**I — ^I  guess  not,  Dot.  It  can't  be  morning. 
Are  you  hungry  1'* 

**No-o.    I  guess  not,"  confessed  the  little  girl. 

**Then  it  can't  be  morning,"  Sammy  declared, 
for  what  better  time-keeper  can  there  be  than  a 
child's  stomach? 

"But  aren't  they  going  to  let  us  out — ^not  ever, 
Sammy?"  wailed  the  little  girl. 

'* Pshaw!  Of  course  they  will.  Some  time 
they'll  want  to  load  up  this  old  boat.  And  then 
they'll  have  to  open  the  door  up  there  in  the  deck. 
So  we'U  get  out." 

*'But — but  suppose  it  should  be  a  long,  long 
time?"  breathed  Dot,  thrilled  with  the  awfulness 
of  the  thought. 

"We  got  plenty  to  eat,"  Sammy  said  stoutly. 

"Not  now  we  haven't,  Sammy,"  Dot  reminded 
him.    "We  ate  a  lot." 

"But  there's  all  the  potatoes — " 

"I  wouldn't  like  'em  raw,"  put  in  Dot,  with 
decision.  "And  you  can't  catch  any  fish  as  you 
were  going  to  with  your  hook  and  line,  Sammy.  I 
heard  that  girl  that's  with  the  other  pirates,"  she 
added,  "tell  their  dog  that  he  couldn't  even  catch 
rabbits  along  the  canal.  And  what  do  you  think, 
Sammy  Pinkney!'* 

"What!"  he  asked,  drearily  enough. 


An  Unexpected  Delight  137 

**Why,  Sadie  Goronofsky  said  last  spring  that 
she  had  an  uncle  that  was  a  rabbit.  What  do  you 
think  of  that?  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing,  did 
you ! ' ' 

**He  was  a  rabbit,  Dot?"  gasped  Sammy, 
brought  to  life  by  this  strange  statement. 

**That*s  just  what  she  said.  She  said  he  was 
a  rabbit,  and  he  wore  a  round  black  cap  and  had 
long  whiskers — like  our  goat,  I  guess.  And  he 
prayed — '* 

"  Je-ru-sa-?em/''  ejaculated  Sammy. 

**And  the  rabbit,  Sadie's  uncle,  prayed,*'  went 
on  Dot,  uninfluenced  by  Sammy's  ejaculation. 
**Now  what  do  you  think  of  that?" 

Master  Sammy  was  as  ignorant  of  the  Jewish 
ritual  and  synagogue  officers  as  was  Dot  Kenway. 
He  burst  out  with  disgust: 

**I  think  Sadie  Goronofsky  was  telling  a  fib, 
that's  what /think!" 

**I'm  afraid  so,"  Dot  concluded  with  a  sigh. 
**But  I  don't  like  to  think  so.  I  meant  to  ask 
Ruthie  about  it,"  and  she  shook  her  head  again, 
still  much  puzzled  over  Sadie's  uncle  who  was  a 
rabbi. 

The  day  waned,  and  still  the  two  little  stow- 
aways heard  nothing  from  above — ^not  even  the 
snuffing  of  the  old  hound  about  the  hatchcover. 
They  were  buried  it  seemed  out  of  the  ken  of  other 
human  beings.  It  made  them  both  feel  very 
despondent.  Sammy  stuck  to  his  guns  and  would 
not  cry;  but  after  a  while  Dot  sobbed  herself  to 


138    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

sleep  again — ^with  a  great  luscious  peach  from 
Kuthie's  basket  of  fruit,  clutched  in  her  hand  and 
staining  the  frock  of  the  Alice-dolh 

The  Nancy  Hanks  was  finally  brought  to  a 
mooring  just  across  the  canal  from  the  tented 
field  where  the  circus  was  pitched.  The  dirty 
brown  canvas  of  the  large  and  small  tents  showed 
that  the  circus  had  already  had  a  long  season. 
Everything  was  tarnished  and  tawdry  about  the 
show  at  this  time  of  year.  Even  the  ornate  band 
wagon  was  shabby  and  the  vociferous  calliope 
seemed  to  have  the  croup  whenever  it  was  played. 

But  people  had  come  from  far  and  near  to  see 
the  show.  Its  wonders  were  as  fresh  to  the  chil- 
dren as  though  the  entertainment  had  just  left 
winter  quarters,  all  spic  and  span. 

From  the  deck  of  the  Nancy  Hanks  there  looked 
to  be  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  people  wandering 
about  the  fields  where  the  tents  were  erected. 

**0h,  come  on.  Pap,  le*s  hurry!**  exclaimed 
Louise  Quigg,  gaspingly.  **0h,  my  I  Every- 
body'11  see  everything  all  up  before  we  get 
there!" 

The  mules  were  driven  aboard  over  the  gang- 
plank and  stabled  in  the  forward  end  of  the  house. 
The  cabin  door  was  locked  and  Beauty  set  on 
guard.  Without  the  first  idea  that  they  were 
leaving  any  other  human  beings  upon  the  barge 
when  they  left  it,  Louise  and  her  father  walked 
toward  the  drawbridge  on  the  edge  of  town,  over 
which  they  had  to  pass  to  reach  the  showgrounds. 


An  Unexpected  Delight  139 

Louise  had  hurriedly  cooked  supper  on  the  other 
side  of  the  partition  from  the  coop  where  the 
mules  were  stabled.  The  fire  was  not  entirely  out 
when  she  had  locked  the  door.  Her  desire  to 
reach  the  showgrounds  early  made  the  child  care- 
less for  once  in  her  cramped  life. 

The  mules,  quarreling  over  their  supper,  became 
more  than  usually  active.  One  mule  bit  the  other, 
who  promptly  switched  around,  striving  to  land 
both  his  heels  upon  his  maters  ribs. 

Instead,  the  kicking  mule  burst  in  the  partition 
between  the  stable  and  the  living  room,  or  cabin, 
of  the  Nancy  Hanks.  The  flying  planks  knocked 
over  the  stove  and  the  live  coals  were  spread 
abroad  upon  the  floor. 

This  began  to  smoke  at  once.  Little  flames  soon 
began  to  lick  along  the  cracks  between  the  deck 
planks.  The  mules  brayed  and  became  more  un- 
easy. They  did  not  like  the  smell  of  the  smoke; 
much  less  did  they  like  the  vicinity  of  the  flames 
which  grew  rapidly  longer  and  hotter. 

As  for  Beauty,  the  hound,  her  idea  of  watching 
the  premises  was  to  curl  down  on  an  old  coat  of 
Quigg's  on  deck  and  sleep  as  soundly  as  though 
no  peril  at  all  threatened  the  old  canalboat  and 
anybody  who  might  be  aboard  of  it. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   PURSUIT 

Nealb  O'Neil  did  not  return  to  Mr.  Con 
Murphy 's  with  a  creel  of  fish  until  late  afternoon. 
He  was  going  to  clean  some  of  his  fish  and  take 
them  as  a  present  to  the  Corner  House  girls ;  but 
something  the  little  cobbler  told  him  quite  changed 
his  plan. 

**Here*s  a  letter  that's  come  to  ye,  me  bye," 
said  Con,  looking  up  from  his  tap,  tap  tapping 
on  somebody's  shoe,  and  gazing  over  the  top  of 
his  silver-bowed  spectacles  at  Neale. 

** Thanks,"  said  Neale,  taking  the  missive  from 
the  leather  seat  beside  Mr.  Murphy.  ** Guess  it's 
from  Uncle  Bill.  He  said  he  expected  to  show 
in  Durginville  this  week." 

"And  there's  trouble  at  the  Comer  House," 
said  the  cobbler. 

"What  sort  of  trouble?" 

"I  don't  rightly  know,  me  bye;  save  wan  of  the 
little  gals  seems  to  be  lost." 

"Lost!"  gasped  Neale  anxiously.  "Wliich 
one?    Tess?    Dot?    J^ot  Agnes? " 

"Shure,"  said  Con  Murphy,  "is  that  little 
beauty  likely  to  be  lost,  I  ax  ye?  No!  'Tis  the 
very  littlest  wan  of  all. ' ' 

"DotI" 

140 


The  Pursuit  141 

*'  'Tis  so.  The  other  wan — Theresa — ^was  here 
askmg  for  her  before  noon-time,"  the  cobbler 
added. 

Neale  waited  for  nothing  further — ^not  even 
to  read  his  letter,  which  he  slipped  into  his  pocket ; 
but  hurried  over  the  back  fence  into  the  rear 
premises  of  the  Comer  House. 

By  this  time  the  entire  neighborhood  was 
aroused.  Luke  had  called  up  the  police  station 
and  given  a  description  of  Sammy  and  Dot.  The 
telephone  had  been  busy  most  of  the  time  after 
he  and  Euth  had  returned  from  their  unsuccessful 
visit  to  the  canal. 

Agnes,  red-eyed  from  weeping,  ran  at  Neale 
when  she  saw  him  coming. 

**0h,  Neale  O'Neill  Why  weren't  you  here? 
Get  out  the  auto  at  once !  Let  us  go  and  find  them. 
I  know  they  have  been  carried  off — " 

*' Who's  carried  them,  Aggie?"  he  demanded. 
** Brace  up.  Let's  hear  all  the  particulars  of  this 
kidnapping." 

*'0h,  you  can  laugh.  Don't  you  dare  laugh!" 
expostulated  Agnes,  quite  beside  herself,  and 
scarcely  knowing  what  she  said.  **But  somebody 
must  certainly  have  stolen  Dot." 

**That  might  be,"  confessed  Neale.  **But  who 
in  the  world  would  want  to  steal  Sammy?  I  can't 
imajs^ne  anybody  wanting  a  youngster  like  him." 

**Do  be  serious  if  you  can,  Neale,"  admonished 
Ruth,  who  had  likewise  been  weeping,  but  was 
critical  of  the  ex-circus  boy  as  usuaL 


142     The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

*  *  I  am, "  declared  Neale.  * '  Only,  let  *s  get  down 
to  facts.    Who  saw  them  last  and  where?" 

He  listened  seriously  to  the  story.  His  remark 
at  the  end  might  not  have  been  very  illuminating, 
but  it  was  sensible. 

''Well,  then,  if  Mrs.  Kranz  and  Joe  Maroni 
saw  them  last,  that's  the  place  to  start  hunting  for 
the  kids." 

*  *  Didn  *t  we  go  there  ? ' '  demanded  Euth,  sharply. 
**I  have  just  told  you — " 

*'But  you  didn't  find  them,"  Neale  said  nuldly. 
**Just  the  same,  I  see  nothing  else  to  do  but  to 
make  Mrs.  Kranz 's  store  the  starting  point  of  the 
search.  The  whole  neighborhood  there  should  be 
searched.  Start  running  circles  around  that  cor- 
ner of  Meadow  Street." 

"Didn't  Luke  and  I  go  as  far  as  the  canalt*' 
and  Euth  was  stUI  rather  warm  of  speech. 

*'But  I  guess  Neale  is  right,  Euth,"  Luke  put 
in.  *'I  don't  know  the  people  over  there  or  the 
neighborhood  itself.  There  may  have  been  lots 
of  hiding  places  they  could  have  slipped  into. ' ' 

"It's  the  starting  point  of  the  search,"  Neale 
declared  dogmatically.  "I  am  going  right  over 
there. ' ' 

"Do  get  out  the  auto,"  cried  Agnes,  who  had 
uncanny  faith  in  the  motor  car  as  a  means  of  aid 
in  almost  any  emergency.     "And  I'm  going!" 

"Let's  all  go,"  Cecile  Shepard  suggested.  "I 
think  we  ought  to  interview  everybody  around 
that  shop.    Don't  you,  Luke?" 


The  Pursuit  143 

**Bi^t,  Sis,'*  her  brother  agreed.  **Come  on, 
Miss  Ruth.  Many  hands  should  make  light  work. 
It  isn't  enough  to  have  the  constables  on  the  out- 
look for  the  children.    It  will  soon  be  night. ' ' 

Although  Ruth  could  not  see  that  going  to 
Meadow  Street  again  promised  to  be  of  much 
benefit,  save  to  keep  them  all  occupied,  she  agreed 
to  Neale's  proposal  which  had  been  so  warmly 
seconded  by  Luke. 

The  boys  got  out  the  automobile  and  the  two 
older  Comer  House  girls,  with  Cecile,  joined  them. 
The  car  rolled  swiftly  away  from  home,  leaving 
Tess  in  tears,  Mrs.  MacCall,  Aunt  Sarah,  Uncle 
Bufus  and  Linda  in  a  much  disturbed  state  of 
mind,  and  poor  Mrs.  Pinkney  in  the  very  lowest 
depths  of  despair. 

They  had  all  had  a  late  luncheoti — all  save 
Neale.  He  had  eaten  only  what  he  had  put  in  his 
pocket  when  he  left  for  his  fishing  trip  to  Pogue 
Lake  that  morning.  It  was  approaching  dinner 
time  when  they  reached  Meadow  Street,  but  none 
of  the  anxious  young  people  thought  much  about 
this  fact. 

The  news  of  the  loss  of  Dot  Kenway  and  Sammy 
Pinkney  had  by  this  time  become  thoroughly 
known  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Stower  prop- 
erty on  Meadow  Street.  Not  only  were  the 
tenants  of  the  Comer  House  girls,  but  all  their 
friends  and  acquaintances,  interested  in  the 
search. 

Groups  had  gathered  about  the  comer  where 


144    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Mrs.  Kranz's  store  and  Joe  Maroni^s  fruit  stand 
were  situated,  discussing  the  mystery.  Sugges- 
tions of  dragging  the  canal  had  been  made;  but 
these  were  hushed  when  the  kindly  people  saw 
Agnes*  tear-streaked  face  and  Ruth  Kenway's 
anxious  eyes. 

**0h,  my  dear!"  gasped  Mrs.  Kranz,  her  fat 
face  wrinkling  with  emotion,  and  dabbing  at  her 
eyes  while  she  patted  Ruth's  shoulder.  **If  I  had 
only  knowed  vat  dem  kinder  had  in  der  kopfs 
yedt,  oh,  my  dear !  I  vould  haf  made  dem  go  right 
avay  straight  home." 

**De  leetla  padrona  allow,  I  go  right  away  queek 
and  looka  for  theem — ^yes?  Maria  and  my 
Marouche  watcha  da  stan  * — sella  da  fruit.  Yes  ? ' ' 
cried  Joe  Maroni  to  the  oldest  Comer  House  girL 

"K  we  only — any  of  us — ^knew  where  to 
search!"  Ruth  cried. 

Neale  and  Luke  got  out  of  the  automobile,  leav- 
ing the  girls  surrounded  by  the  gossipy,  though 
kindly,  women  of  the  neighborhood  and  the 
curious  children.  Neither  of  the  young  fellows 
had  any  well  defined  idea  as  to  how  to  proceed; 
but  they  were  not  inclined  to  waste  any  more  time 
merely  canvassing  the  misfortune  of  Dot  and 
Sammy's  disappearance. 

Neale,  being  better  acquainted  with  the  dwell- 
ers m  this  neighborhood,  seized  a  half-grown 
youth  on  the  edge  of  the  crowd  and  put  several 
very  pertinent  questions  to  him. 

Was  there  any  place  right  around  there  that 


The  Pursuit  145 

the  children  might  have  fallen  into — ^like  a  cellar, 
or  an  excavation?  Any  place  into  which  they 
could  have  wandered  and  be  unable  to  get  out 
of,  or  to  make  their  situation  known?  Had  there 
been  an  accident  of  any  kind  near  this  vicinity 
during  the  day? 

The  answers  extracted  from  this  street  youth, 
who  would,  Neale  was  sure,  know  of  anything 
odd  happening  around  this  section  of  Milton,  were 
negative. 

*'Say,  it's  been  deader *n  a  doornail  around 
here  for  a  week,'*  confessed  the  Meadow  Street 
youth.  **Even  Dugan's  goat  hasn't  been  on  the 
rampage.  No,  sir.  I  ain't  seen  an  automobile 
goin'  faster  than  a  toad  funeral  all  day.  Say,  the 
fastest  things  we  got  around  here  is  the  canal- 
boats — believe  me!" 

**  Funny  how  we  always  come  around  to  that 
canal — or  the  barges  on  it — in  this  inquiry," 
murmured  Luke  to  Neale  O'Neil. 

The  two  had  started  down  the  street,  but  Neale 
halted  in  his  walk  and  stared  at  the  young 
coUegian. 

*' Funny!"  he  exclaimed  suddenly.  "No,  there 
isn't  anything  funny  in  it  at  all.  The  canal. 
Canalboats.  My  goodness,  Mr.  Shepard,  there 
must  be  something  in  it!" 

** Water,"  growled  Luke.  **And  very  muddy 
water  at  that.  I  will  not  believe  that  the  children 
fell  in  and  were  drowned!" 

"No!"  cried  Neale  just  as  vigorously.    Thea 


146    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

he  grinned.  **Sammy  Pinkney's  hest  friends  say 
he  will  never  be  drowned,  although  some  of  them 
intimate  that  there  is  hemp  growing  for  him. 
No,  Sammy  and  Dot  would  not  fall  into  the  canal. 
But,  crickey,  Shepard  I  they  might  have  fallen  into 
a  canalboat." 

**What  do  you  mean?  Have  been  carried  off 
in  one!    Kidnapped — actually  kidnapped?" 

**ShI  No.  Perhaps  not.  But  you  never  can 
tell  what  will  happen  to  kids  like  them — nor  what 
they  will  do.  Whew!  there's  an  idea.  Sammy 
was  always  threatening  to  run  away  and  be  a 
pirate.'* 

**The  funny  kid!"  laughed  Luke.  **But  Dot 
did  not  desire  such  a  romantic  career,  I  am 
sure." 

**Did  you  ever  find  out  yet  what  was  in  a  girl's 
head?"  asked  Neale,  with  an  assumption  of 
worldly  wisdom  very  funny  in  one  of  his  age  and 
experience.  "You  don't  know  what  the  smallest 
of  them  have  in  their  noddles.  Maybe  if  Sammy 
expressed  an  intention  of  being  a  pirate  she 
wasn't  going  to  be  left  behind." 

He  laughed.  But  he  had  hit  the  fact  very 
nearly.  And  it  seemed  reasonable  to  Luke  the 
more  he  thought  of  it. 

**But  on  a  canalboat?"  he  said,  with  lingering 
doubts. 

**Well,  it  floats  on  the  water,  and  it's  a  boat," 
urged  Neale.  "Put  yourself  in  the  kid's  place. 
If  the  idea  struck  you  suddenly  to  be  a  pirate 


The  Pursuit  147 

•where  would  you  look  around  here  for  a  pirate 
ship  and  water  to  sail  itt" 

*  *  Great  Peter  I ' '  murmured  Luke.  *  *  The  bound- 
less canal  I" 

"Quite  so,'*  rejoined  Neale  O'Neil,  his  convic- 
tion growing.  **Now,  on  that  basis,  let's  ask 
about  the  barges  that  have  gone  east  out  from 
Milton  to-day." 

''Why  not  both  ways!"  queried  Luke,  quickly. 

**Becaase  most  of  the  canalboats  coming  west 
go  no  farther  than  the  Milton  docks;  and  if  the 
kids  had  got  a  ride  on  one  into  town,  they  would 
long  since  have  been  home.  But  it  is  a  long 
journey  to  the  other  end  of  the  canal.  Why,  it's 
fifteen  or  eighteen  miles  to  Durginville. " 

**How  are  you  going  to  find  out  about  these 
boats!" 

N^ale  had  a  well  defined  idea  by  this  time.  He 
sent  Luke  back  to  the  car  to  pacify  the  girls  as 
best  he  could,  but  without  taking  time  to  explain 
to  the  collegian  his  intention  in  full.  Then  the 
boy  got  to  work. 

Within  half  an  hour  he  interviewed  the  black- 
smith and  half  a  dozen  other  people  who  lived  or 
worked  in  sight  of  the  canal.  He  discovered  that, 
although  two  barges  had  gone  along  to  the  Milton 
Lock  at  the  river  side  since  before  noon,  only 
the  old  Nancy  Hanks  had  gone  in  the  other  direc- 
tion. 

He  came  back  to  the  car  and  the  waiting  party 
in  some  eagerness. 


148     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

*'0h,  Keale!  have  you  found  them!"  cried 
Agnes. 

* '  Of  course  he  hasn  't.  Do  not  be  so  impatient, 
Aggie,"  admonished  Kuth. 

*'I  have  an  idea,"  proclaimed  Neale,  as  he 
stepped  into  the  car  and  turned  the  starting 
switch. 

*'A  trace  of  the  children?"  Cecile  asked. 

**It's  worth  looking  mto,"  said  Neale  with  much 
more  confidence  than  he  really  felt.  "We'll  run 
up  to  the  first  lock  and  see  if  the  lock-keeper 
noticed  anybody  save  the  captain  and  his  little 
girl  on  that  barge  that  went  through  this  after- 
noon. Maybe  Dot  got  friendly  with  the  girl  and 
she  and  Sammy  went  along  for  a  ride  on  the 
Nancy  Hanks.  Thej^  say  this  Bill  Quigg  that 
owns  that  canalboat  isn't  any  brighter  than  the 
law  allows,  and  he  might  not  think  of  the  kids' 
folks  being  scared." 

**Ohl  it  doesn't  seem  reasonable,'*  Euth  said, 
shaking  her  head. 

But  she  did  not  forbid  Neale  to  make  the 
journey  to  the  lock.  The  road  was  good  all  the 
way  to  Durginville  and  it  was  a  highway  the 
Comer  House  girls  had  not  traveled  in  their  auto- 
mobile. At  another  time  they  would  have  all  en- 
joyed the  trip  immensely  in  the  cool  of  the  even- 
ing. And  Neale  drove  just  as  fast  as  the  law 
allowed — if  not  a  little  faster. 

Agnes  loved  to  ride  fast  in  the  anto;  but  this 
was  one  occasion  when  she  was  too  worried  to 


The  Pursuit  149 

enjoy  the  motion.  As  they  rushed  on  over  the 
road,  and  through  the  pleasant  countryside,  they 
were  all  rather  silent.  Every  passing  minute 
added  to  the  burden  of  anxiety  upon  the  minds 
of  the  two  sisters  and  Neale ;  nor  were  the  visitors 
lacking  in  sympathy. 

After  all,  little  folk  like  Sammy  and  Dot  are 
in  great  danger  when  out  in  the  world  alone, 
away  from  the  shelter  of  home.  So  many,  many 
accidents  may  happen. 

Therefore  it  was  a  very  serious  party  indeed 
that  finally  stopped  at  Bumstead  Lock  to  ask  if  the 
lock-keeper  or  his  wife,  who  lived  in  a  tiny  cottage 
and  cultivated  a  small  plot  of  ground  near  by,  had 
noticed  any  passengers  upon  Cap'n  Bill  Quigg's 
barge. 

**0n  the  Nancy  Hanks?*'  repeated  the  lock- 
keeper.  **I  should  say  *no'!  young  lady,*'  shak- 
ing his  head  emphatically  at  Euth's  question. 
**  Why,  who  ever  would  sail  as  a  passenger  on  that 
old  ramshackle  thing?  I  reckon  it'll  fall  to  pieces 
some  day  soon  and  block  traffic  on  the  canal. ' ' 

Ruth,  disappointed,  would  not  have  persevered. 
But  Luke  Shepard  asked: 

**Ts  there  much  traffic  on  the  canal?" 

*'Well,  sometimes  there  is  and  sometimes  there 
ain't.  But  I  see  aU  that  goes  through  here,  you 
may  believe." 

*'How  many  canalboats  went  toward  Durgin- 
ville  to-day?"  the  collegian  inquired. 

""Why — lemme  see,"  drawled  the  lock-keeper 


150    The  Corner  House  Girls^Growing  Up 

thoughtfully,  as  though  there  was  so  much  traffic 
that  it  was  a  trouble  to  remember  all  the  boats. 
**Why,  I  cal'late  about  one.  Yes,  sir,  one.  That 
was  the  Nancy  Hanks.'* 

**She  ought  to  be  a  fast  boat  at  that,"  muttered 
Neale  O'Neil.    "Nancy  Hanks  was  some  horse." 

**So  that  was  the  only  one?"  Luke  persevered. 
**And  you  spoke  with  Cap'n  Quigg,  did  you?" 

"With  Bill  Quigg?"  snapped  the  lock-keeper, 
with  some  asperity.  "I  guess  not!  I  ain't 
wastin*  my  time  with  the  likes  of  him." 

"Oh-ho,"  said  Luke,  while  his  friends  looked 
interested.  "You  don't  approve  of  the  owner  of 
the  Nancy  Hanks?" 

"I  should  hope  not.  I  ain't  got  no  use  for 
him." 

"Then  he  is  a  pretty  poor  citizen,  I  take  it?" 

"I  cal'late  he's  the  poorest  kind  we  got.  He 
ain't  even  wuth  sendin'  to  jail.  He'd  gone  long 
ago  if  he  was.    No.    I've  no  use  for  Cap'n  Bill.'* 

"But  you  saw  there  was  nobody  with  him  on 
the  boat — no  children?" 

"Only  that  gal  of  his." 

"No  others?" 

"Wal,  I  dunno.  I  tell  you  I  didn't  stop  none 
to  have  any  doin's  with  them.  I  done  my  duty 
and  that's  all.  I  ain't  required  by  law  to  gas 
with  all  the  riffraff  that  sails  this  here  canal." 

"I  believe  you,'*  agreed  Luke  mildly.  He 
looked  at  Neale  and  grinned.  "Not  very  conclu- 
sive, is  it?"  he  asked. 


The  Pursuit  151 

"Not  to  my  mind.  Bet  the  kids  were  on  there 
with  this  little  girl  he  speaks  of,*'  muttered  Neale. 

"Oh,  do  you  believe  it,  Neale?"  gasped  Agnes, 
leaning  over  the  back  of  the  seat. 

"I  am  sure  we  are  much  obliged  to  you,  sir," 
Ruth  said,  sweetly,  as  the  engine  began _to  roar 
again. 

"What's  up,  anyway?"  asked  the  crabbed  lock- 
keeper.  "You  got  something  on  that  Bill 
Quigg?" 

"Can't  tell.  Mister,"  Neale  said  seriously. 
"You  ask  him  about  it  when  he  comes  back." 

"Now,  Neale,  you've  started  something,"  de- 
clared Ruth,  as  the  automobile  sped  away. 
"You  just  see  if  you  haven't" 


^'- 


CHAPTEE  XVI 

THE   EINGMASTEE 

"Just  the  same,  that  old  fellow  didn't  even 
know  whether  there  was  somebody  aboard  the 
canalboat  with  Quigg  and  his  daughter  or  not," 
Neale  O'Neil  said,  as  they  turned  back  into  the 
Durginville  road. 

"  Oh ! "  cried  Cecile.    '  *  Are  you  going  on?  * ' 

*'We  are — just,*'  said  her  brother.  "Until  we 
solve  the  mystery  of  the  Nancy  Hanks.'* 

"Do  you  suppose  that  canal  boatman  is  bad 
enough  to  have  shut  the  children  up  on  his  boat 
and  wUl  keep  them  for  ransom?"  demanded 
Agnes,  filled  with  a  new  fear. 

"He's  not  a  brigand  I  should  hope,"  Cecile 
Shepard  cried. 

"Can't  tell  what  he  is  till  we  see  him,"  Neale 
grumbled.  "If  this  old  canalboat  hasn't  been 
wrecked  or  sunk,  we'll  find  it  and  interview  Cap'n 
Quigg  before  we  go  back." 

"Meanwhile,"  Euth  said,  with  more  than  a  little 
doubt,  "the  children  may  be  wandering  in  quite 
an  opposite  direction." 

"Why,  of  course,  our  guess  may  be  wrong, 
Euth,"  Luke  said  thoughtfully,  turning  around 

152 


The  Ringmaster  153 

the  better  to  speak  with  the  oldest  Comer  House 
girl.  **  However,  we  are  traveling  so  fast  that  it 
will  not  delay  us  much.'* 

** Pshaw,  no!"  exclaimed  Neale.  **We'll  he  in 
Durginville  ia  a  few  minutes." 

But  they  did  not  get  that  far.  Crossing  the 
canal  by  a  liftbridge  they  swept  along  the  other 
side  and  suddenly  coming  out  of  the, woods  saw 
before  them  a  tented  city. 

*'WhyI"  cried  Cecile,  "it's  a  circus  I" 

"I  saw  the  pictures  on  the  billboards,"  her 
brother  admitted.  *'If  we  only  had  the  children 
with  us,  and  everything  was  all  right,  we  might 
go." 

"Sure  we  would,"  responded  Neale,  smiling. 

"Oh,  Neale  I"  cried  Agnes,  "is  it  Uncle  BiU's?" 

"Yes.  I  have  a  letter  in  my  pocket  now  from 
him  that  I've  had  no  chance  to  read." 

"You  don't  suppose  Mr.  Sorber  knows  any- 
thing about  the  children?"  said  Ruth,  a  little 
weakly  for  her. 

"How  could  he!"  gasped  Agnes.  "But  we 
ought  to  stop  and  ask." 

"And  see  about  the  calico  pony,"  chuckled 
Neale.  "Tess  and  Dot  have  been  hounding  me 
to  death  about  that." 

"You  don't  suppose  Dot  could  have  started  out 
to  hunt  for  the  circus  to  get  that  pony,  do  you?" 
suggested  Kuth,  almost  at  her  wits'  end  to  ima^ne 
what  had  happened  to  her  little  sister  and  her 
friend. 


154    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

*'We'll  know  about  that  shortly,"  Neale  de- 
clared. 

Suddenly  Luke  Shepard  exclaimed: 
** Hullo,  what's  afire,  Neale t    See  yonder?" 
"At  the  canal,"  cried  his  sister,  seeing  the 
smoke  too. 
"Is  it  a  house?"  asked  Agnes. 
"A    straw    stack!"    cried   Neale.    "Must   be. 
Some  farmer  is  losing  the  winter's  bedding  for 
his  cattle. ' ' 

"It  is  on  the  canal,"  Luke  put  in.  "Don't  you 
see?  There's  one  of  those  old  barges  there — and 
the  smoke  is  coming  from  it.'* 

"There  are  the  flames.  The  fire's  burst  out,'* 
Agnes  cried. 

Suddenly  Ruth  startled  them  all  by  demanding : 
"How  do  we  know  it  isn't  the  Nancy  Hanks?'* 
"Crickey!  We  don't,"  acknowledged  Neale, 
and  immediately  touched  the  accelerator.  The 
car  leaped  ahead.  They  went  roaring  on  toward 
the  circus  grounds  and  the  canal,  and  people  on 
the  road  stepped  hastily  aside  at  the  "Honk! 
Honk!"  of  the  automobile  horn. 

Fortunately  there  were  not  many  vehicles  in  the 
road,  for  most  of  the  farmers'  wagons  had 
already  reached  the  grounds,  and  their  mules  and 
horses  were  hitched  beside  the  right  of  way.  But 
there  was  quite  a  crowd  upon  the  tented  field. 
This  crowd  had  not,  however,  as  Louise  Quigg 
feared  "seen  everything  all  up"  before  the  canal- 
boat  girl  and  her  father  reached  the  tents. 


The  Ringmaster  155 

Louise  wanted  to  see  everything  to  be  seen  out- 
side before  paying  over  their  good  money  to  get 
into  the  big  show.  So  they  wandered  among  the 
tents  for  some  time,  without  a  thought  of  the  old 
canalboat.  Indeed,  they  were  out  of  sight  of  it 
when  the  mule  kicked  over  the  stove  on  the  Nancy 
Hanks  and  that  pirate  craft  (according  to  the 
first  hopes  of  Sammy  Pinkney)   caught  fire. 

Indeed,  nobody  on  the  circus  grounds  was  look- 
ing canalward.  Torches  were  beginning  to  flare 
up  here  and  there  in  the  darkening  field.  There 
were  all  kinds  of  sideshows  and  ** penny  pops" — 
lifting  machines,  hammer-throws,  a  shooting 
gallery,  a  baseball  alley  with  a  grinning  black 
man  dodging  the  ball  at  the  end — ''certainly 
should  like  to  try  to  hit  that  nigger,"  Pap  de- 
clared— taffy  booths,  popcorn  machines,  soft 
drink  booths,  and  a  dozen  other  interesting 
things. 

Of  course,  Louise  and  her  father  could  only 
look.  They  had  no  money  to  spend  on  side  issues 
— or  sideshows.  But  they  looked  their  fill.  For 
once  Cap'n  Bill  appeared  to  be  awake.  He  was 
as  interested  in  what  there  was  to  be  seen  as  the 
child  clinging  to  his  hairy  hand. 

They  went  back  of  the  big  tent  and  there  was 
one  with  the  canvas  raised  so  that  they  could  see 
the  horses  and  ponies  stabled  within.  Some  of 
the  fattest  and  sleekest  horses  were  being 
harnessed  and  trimmed  for  the  "grand  entrance," 
and  such  a  shaking  of  heads  to  hear  the  tiny  bells 


156    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

ring,  and  stamping  of  oiled  hoofs  as  there  was — 
all  the  airs  of  a  vain  girl  before  her  looking- 
glass  ! 

Louise  was  stricken  dumb  before  a  pony,  all 
patches  of  brown  and  cream  color,  and  with  pink 
like  a  seashell  inside  its  ears  and  on  its  muzzle. 
The  pony's  mane  was  all  '* crinkly"  and  its  bang 
was  parted  and  braided  with  blue  ribbons. 

*'0h,  Pap!"  gasped  the  little  girl,  breathlessly, 
*' isn't  he  a  dearf  I  never  did  see  so  harnsome  a 
pony." 

A  short,  stout  man,  with  a  very  red  face  and 
a  long-lashed  whip  in  his  hand  who  was  standing 
by,  heard  the  canalboat  girl  and  smiled  kindly 
upon  her.  He  was  dressed  for  the  ring — shiny 
top  hat,  varnished  boots,  and  all,  and  Louise 
thought  him  a  most  wonderful  looking  man  in- 
deed. If  anybody  had  told  her  Mr.  Bill  Sorber 
was  the  president  of  the  United  States  she  would 
have  believed  it. 

**So  you  like  that  pony,  do  you?"  asked  the 
ringmaster.  "He's  some  pony.  I  reckon  the 
little  girls  he  belongs  to  will  like  him,  too." 

*'0h,  isn't  he  a  circus  ponyT'  asked  Louise, 
wide-eyed. 

**He  was.  But  I'm  just  going  to  send  him  to 
Milton  to  live  with  some  little  girls  I  know,  and 
I  bet  Scalawag  will  have  a  lazy  time  of  it  for  the 
rest  of  his  natural  life.  And  he'll  like  that," 
chuckled  Mr.   Sorber,   deep   in  his  chest,   **for 


The  Eingmaster  157 

Scalawag's  the  laziest  pony  I  ever  tried  to 
handle. ' ' 

"Oh,**  murmured  Louise,  **he  seems  too  nice 
a  horse  to  be  called  by  such  a  bad  name. ' ' 

** Bless  you!  he  don't  mind  it  at  all,"  declared 
the  ringmaster.  **And  it  fits  him  right  down  to 
the  ground !  He 's  as  full  of  tricks  as  an  egg  is  of 
meat — yes  ma'am!    Ain't  you,  Scalawag?" 

He  touched  the  pony  lightly  with  his  whip  upon 
his  round  rump  and  the  pony  flung  out  his  pretty 
heels  and  whinnied.  Then  at  a  touch  under  his 
belly  Scalawag  stood  up  on  his  hind  legs  and 
pawed  the  air  to  keep  his  balance. 

**OhI"  gasped  Louise  Quigg,  with  clasped 
hands. 

**Just  as  graceful  as  a  barrel,  Scalawag," 
chuckled  Mr.  Sorber.  *'He's  too  fat.  But  I  just 
can't  help  feedin'  critters  well.  I  like  to  feed 
well  myself.  And  I  know  where  he's  going  to 
live  in  Milton  he'll  be  well  tended.  Hullo!  what's 
going  on?" 

For  suddenly  a  shout  was  heard  beyond  the 
main  tent.  Somebody  cried,  " Fire !  Fire!'*  and 
there  was  a  roaring  of  an  automobile  approaching 
the  circus  grounds  at  a  rapid  rate. 

"What's  goin'  on?"  repeated  Mr.  Sorber,  and 
started  upon  an  elephantine  trot  for  the  canal  side 
of  the  field. 

**Come  on,  Pap!  We  don't  want  to  miss 
nothin',"    gasped    Louise,    seizing    the    gaping 


158    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Qaigg's  hand.  She  left  the  calico  pony,  however, 
with  a  backward  glance  of  longing. 

The  crowd  broke  for  the  canal  bank.  "When  the 
captain  and  his  daughter  came  in  sight  of  the  fire 
the  flames  were  shooting  ten  feet  high  out  of  the 
cabin  roof. 

The  boat  was  moored  across  the  canal.  Neale, 
driving  down  to  the  bank,  saw  that  the  water  was 
between  them  and  the  fire,  so  he  halted  the  car. 
A  heavy  man,  bearing  two  empty  pails  in  each 
hand,  and  followed  closely  by  another  man  and  a 
little  girl  likewise  bearing  buckets,  came  gasp- 
ingly to  the  automobile. 

*'Hi,  Mister!"  puffed  Mr.  Bill  Sorber,  *'ast 
your  party  to  git  out  and  take  us  over  the  bridge 
in  that  there  machine  of  yours,  will  you?  That 
canalboat  belongs  to  this  here  man  and  his  little 
gal — ^why,  Neale  I" 

*' Hullo,  Uncle  Bill!  Hop  in — you  and  your 
friends,"  cried  Neale. 

*'Come  in — hurry,  Mr.  Sorber!"  Euth  added 
her  plea.  **0h!"  she  said  to  Louise,  '*is  that  the 
Nancy  Banks?'* 

**Sure  as  ever  was,"  gulped  Louise.  **Come 
on,  Pap!  John  and  Jerry  will  be  burnt  to  a 
cinder,  so  they  will." 

*'Tell  me,  child,"  Luke  said,  lifting  the  girl 
into  his  lap  as  he  sat  in  front  with  Neale,  and 
crowding  over  to  give  the  lanky  Cap'n  Quigg 
room  to  sit.  *'Tell  me,  are  there  others  aboard 
the  boat?" 


The  Ringmaster  159 

*'Jolin  and  Jerry,"  sobbed  Louise. 

"WeU,  well!"  Luke  soothed.  ''Don't  cry. 
They  can  open  the  door  of  the  cabin  and  walk  out, 
can't  they?" 

**Nop.    They're  chained  to  stanchions." 

"Chained?*'  gasped  the  excitable  Agnes  from 
the  rear.  ''How  awful!  Have  you  got  chil- 
dren— " 

"Aw,  who  said  anything  about  children?"  de- 
manded Louise  snappily.  "Only  John  and 
Jerry. ' ' 

"Well?" 

"Them's  mules,"  said  the  child,  as  Neale  drove 
the  car  on  at  increasing  speed. 

"Tell  us,"  Ruth  begged,  quite  as  anxious  now 
as  her  sister,  "have  you  seen  two  children — a  boy 
and  a  girl — this  afternoon?" 

"Lots  of  'em,"  replied  Louise,  succinctly. 

Here  Cap'n  Bill  put  in  a  word.  "If  there's 
anything  to  see,  children,  or  what  not,  Lowise  seen 
'em.    She's  got  the  brightest  eyes!" 

"We  are  looking  for  a  little  girl  with  a  doll  in 
her  arms  and  a  boy  about  ten  years  old.  They 
were  carrying  a  big  paper  bag  and  a  basket  of 
fruit,  and  maybe  were  near  the  canal  at  Milton — 
right  there  at  the  blacksmith  shop  where  you  had 
your  mules  shod  to-day. ' ' 

This  was  Luke's  speech,  and  despite  the  jarring 
and  bouncing  of  the  car  he  made  his  earnest  words 
audible  to  the  captain  of  the  canalboat  and  to  his 
daughter. 


160    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

"Did  they  come  aboard  your  boat?  Or  did  you 
see  them?'*  he  added. 

"Ain't  been  nobody  aboard  our  boat  but  our 
ownselfs  and  Beauty,"  declared  Louise, 

"And  you  did  not  see  two  children — " 

"Holt  on!"  cried  the  girl.  "I  guess  I  seen  'era 
when  we  was  waitin'  to  get  the  mules  shod.  They 
went  by." 

"Which  way  were  they  going?" 

"Toward  the  canal — they  was.  And  our  boat 
was  in  sight.    But  I  didn  't  see  'em  after. ' ' 

*  *  Oh,  my  dear ! ' '  cried  Euth,  from  the  tonneau, 
"they  could  not  possibly  be  shut  up  anywhere  on 
your  boat?" 

"Why,  they  wasn't  in  the  cabin,  of  course — nor 
the  mules'  stable,"  drawled  the  captain. 
"Wam't  nowhere  else." 

The  automobile  roared  down  toward  the  burn- 
ing canalboat.  The  crowd  from  the  circus  field 
lined  up  along  the  other  bank;  but  the  towpath 
was  deserted  where  the  Nancy  Hanks  lay.  The 
flames  were  rapidly  destroying  the  boat  amid- 
ships. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

SCALAWAG  GETS   A   NEW    HOME 

A  DOG  barking  aroused  Sammy.  He  must,  after 
all,  have  fallen  into  a  light  doze.  With  Dot  sleep- 
ing contentedly  on  the  bag  of  potatoes  and  his 
coat,  and  the  only  nearby  sounds  the  rustling 
noise  that  he  had  finally  become  scornful  of,  the 
boy  could  not  be  greatly  blamed  for  losing  himself 
in  sleep. 

But  he  thought  the  dog  barking  must  be  either 
his  Buster  or  old  Tom  Jonah,  the  Corner  House 
girls'  dog.  Were  they  coming  to  search  for  him 
and  Dot! 

*  *  Oh,  wake  up,  Dot !  Wake  up ! "  cried  Sammy, 
shaking  the  little  girl.  ''There's  something  do- 
ing." 

"I  wish  you  wouldn't,  Tess,"  complained  the 
smallest  Corner  House  girl.  "I  don't  want  to 
get  up  so  early.  I — I've  just  come  asleep,"  and 
she  would  have  settled  her  cheek  again  into 
Sammy's  jacket  had  the  boy  not  shaken  her. 

"Oh,  Dot!  Wake  up!"  urged  the  boy, 
now  desperately  frightened.  *' There's — ^there's 
smoke." 

"Oe-ee!"  gasped  Dot,  sitting  up.  ** What's 
happened?    Is  the  chimney  leaking!" 

161 


162     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

''There's  something  afire.  Hear  that  pound- 
ing I    And  the  dog!" 

It  was  the  desperate  kicking  of  the  mules,  John 
and  Jerry,  they  heard.  And  the  kicking  and  the 
barking  of  Beauty,  the  hound,  continued  until  the 
Corner  House  automobile,  with  the  bucket  brigade 
aboard,  roared  down  to  the  canalboat  and  stopped. 

The  fire  was  under  great  headway,  and  every 
person  in  the  party  helped  to  quench  it.  The 
girls,  as  well  as  the  men  and  boys,  rushed  to  the 
work.  To  see  the  old  boat  bum  when  it  was  the 
whole  living  of  the  Quiggs,  gained  the  sympathy 
of  all. 

Neale  leaped  right  down  into  the  water  and 
filled  buckets  and  handed  them  up  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible. Luke  and  the  girls  carried  the  full  pails 
and  either  threw  the  contents  on  the  flames  or 
set  the  pails  down  for  Mr.  Sorber  to  handle. 

The  ringmaster  was  in  his  element,  for  he  loved 
to  direct.  His  shouted  commands  would  have 
made  an  impression  upon  an  organized  fire  de- 
partment. And  he  let  it  be  known,  in  true  show- 
man's style,  that  the  Twomley  &  Sorber 's 
Herculean  Circus  and  Menagerie  was  doing  all  in 
its  power  to  put  out  the  fire. 

Cap'n  BiU  Quigg  and  Louise  ran  to  loosen  the 
mules.  It  was  a  wonder  the  canalboat  girl  was 
not  kicked  to  death  she  was  so  fearless.  And  the 
mules  by  this  time  were  wildly  excited. 

Fortunately  the  fire  had  burned  an  outlet 
through  the  roof  of  the  cabin  and  had  not  spread 


Scalawag  Gets  a  New  Home        163 

to  the  stable.  But  the  heat  was  growing  in  in- 
tensity and  the  smoke  was  blinding.  Especially 
after  Mr.  Sorber  began  to  throw  on  water  to 
smother  the  blaze. 

The  mules  were  released  without  either  the  girl 
or  her  father  being  hurt.  But  John  and  Jerry 
could  not  be  held.  Immediately  they  tore  away, 
raced  over  the  narrow  gangplank,  and  started 
across  somebody's  ploughed  field  at  full  gallop. 
They  never  had  sho-svn  such  speed  since  they  had 
become  known  on  the  towpath. 

Then  Louise  and  her  father  could  help  put  out 
the  fire.  Cap  'n  Bill,  as  well  as  the  mules,  actually 
showed  some  speed.  He  handed  up  buckets  of 
water  with  Neale,  and  amid  the  encouraging 
shouts  of  the  crowd  across  the  canal,  the  fire  was 
finally  quenched.  Mr.  Sorber  immediately  seized 
the  occasion  as  a  good  showman,  or  "ballyhoo,** 
should. 

** Ladies  and  gentlemen,*'  he  shouted,  standing 
at  the  rail  and  bowing,  flourishing  his  arm  as 
though  he  were  snapping  the  long  whip  lash  he 
took  into  the  ring  with  him,  *'this  little  exciting 
episode — this  epicurean  taste  of  the  thrills  to 
follow  in  the  big  tent — although  of  an  impromptu 
nature,  merely  goes  to  show  the  versatility  of 
Twomley  and  Sorber 's  Herculean  Circus  and 
Menagerie,  and  our  ability,  when  the  unexpected 
happens,  to  grapple  with  circumstances  and  throw 
them,  sir — throw  them!  That  is  what  we  did  in 
this  present  thrilling  happening.    The  fire  is  out. 


164     The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Every  spark  is  smothered.  The  Fire  Demon  no 
longer  seeks  to  devour  its  prey.  Ahem!  An- 
other and  a  more  quenching  element  has  driven 
the  Fire  Demon  back  to  its  last  spark  and  cinder 
— and  then  quenched  the  spark  and  cinder !  Now, 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  having  viewed  this  entirely 
impromptu  and  nevertheless  exciting  manifesta- 
tion of  Fire  and  Water,  we  hope  that  your  atten- 
tion will  be  recalled  to  the  glories  of  the  Twomley 
and  Sorber  Herculean  Circus  and  Menagerie. 
The  big  show  will  begin  in  exactly  twenty-two 
minutes,  ladies  and  gentlemen.  At  that  time  I 
shall  be  happy  to  see  you  all  in  your  places  in  our 
comfortable  seats  as  I  enter  the  ring  for  the  grand 
entrance.    I  thank  you,  one  and  all!" 

He  bowed  gracefully  and  retired  a  step  just  as 
Cap'n  Bill  Quigg  kicked  off  the  forward  hatch- 
cover  to  let  the  smoke  out  of  the  hold.  He  let  out 
something  else — and  so  surprised  was  the  canal- 
boatman,  that  he  actually  sprang  back. 

Two  childish  voices  were  shouting  as  loud  as 
possible:    **Let  us  out!    Oh,  let — ^us — o-o-out!" 

**Come  on.  Dot!"  Sammy  Pinkney  cried,  seeing 
the  opening  above  their  heads.  **We  can  get  out 
now." 

**And  we^U  get  right  off  this  horrid  boat, 
Sammy,"  declared  Dot.  "I  don^t  ever  mean  to 
go  off  and  be  pirates  with  you  again — ^never.  Me 
and  my  Alice-doll  don^t  like  it  at  all." 

There  was  a  rush  for  the  open  hatchway  and  a 
chorus  of  excited  voices. 


'There  was  a  rush  for  the  open  hatchway  and  a  chorus 
of  excited  voices" 


Scalawag  Gets  a  New  Home        165 

**0h,  Dot,  Dot!  Are  you  there,  dear?"  cried 
Euth. 

"You  little  plague,  Sammy  Pinkney!"  gasped 
Agnes.    *'I've  a  mind  to  box  your  ears  for  you!" 

**Easy,  easy,"  advised  Neale,  who  was  dripping 
wet  from  his  waist  down.  **Let  us  see  if  they  are 
whole  and  hearty  before  we  turn  on  the  punish- 
ment works.    Give  us  your  hands,  Dottie." 

He  lifted  the  little  girl,  still  hugging  her  Alice- 
doll,  out  of  the  hold  and  kissed  her  himself  before 
he  put  her  into  Ruth's  arms. 

**Come  on  up,  now,  Sammy,  and  take  your 
medicine,"  Neale  urged,  stooping  over  the  hatch- 
way. 

*'Huh!  Don't  you  kiss  me,  Neale  O'Neil," 
growled  Sammy,  trying  to  bring  the  potatoes  and 
the  basket  of  fruit  both  up  the  ladder  with  him. 
*'I'll  get  slobbered  over  enough  when  I  get  home 
—first." 

''And  what  second?"  asked  Luke,  vastly 
amused  as  well  as  relieved. 

But  Sammy  was  silent  on  that  score.  Nor  did 
he  ever  reveal  to  the  Comer  House  girls  and  their 
friends  just  what  happened  to  him  when  he  got 
back  to  his  own  home. 

Mr.  Sorber  was  shaking  hands  with  them  all 
in  congratulatory  mood.  Cap'n  Bill  Quigg  was 
lighting  his  pipe  and  settling  down  against  the 
scorched  side  of  the  cabin  to  smoke.  Dot  was 
passed  around  like  a  doll,  from  hand  to  hand. 
Louise  looked  on  in  mild  amazement. 


166    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

"If  I'd  knowed  that  little  girl  was  down  in  the 
hold,  I  sure  would  have  had  her  out,"  she  said 
to  Neale.  "My!  ain't  she  pretty.  And  what  a 
scrumptious  doll!" 

Dot  saw  the  canalboat  girl  in  her  faded  dress, 
and  the  lanky  boatman,  and  she  had  to  express 
her  curiosity. 

"Oh,  please!"  she  cried.  "Are  you  and  that 
man  pirates,  like  Sammy  and  me?" 

"No,"  said  Louise,  wonderingly.  "Pap's  a 
Lutheran  and  I  went  to  a  'pisoopalean  Sunday- 
school  last  winter. ' ' 

The  laugh  raised  by  the  excited  party  from  the 
Comer  House  quenched  any  further  curiosity  on 
Dot's  part.  And  just  here  Mr.  Sorber  suggested 
a  most  delightful  thing. 

"Now,  Neale  wants  to  come  over  to  the  dress- 
ing tent  and  put  on  something  dry, ' '  said  the  ring- 
master. "And  on  the  way  you  can  stop  at  that 
house  yonder  by  the  bridge  and  telephone  home 
that  you  are  all  right  and  the  young 'uns  have 
been  found.  Then  you'll  all  be  my  guests  at 
Twomley  and  Sorber 's  Herculean  Circus  and 
Menagerie.  The  big  show  will  commence  in  just 
fourteen  minutes.  Besides  Scalawag  wants  to 
see  his  little  mistress." 

"Who  is  Scalawag?"  was  the  chorused  ques- 
tion. 

"That  pony,  Uncle  Bill?"  asked  Neale. 

"Oh I"  gasped  Sammy  Pinkney,  quite  himself 


Scalawag  Gets  a  New  Home         167 

once  more.  **The  calico  pony  with  pink  on  him! 
Je-TU-sa,-lem!" 

** Exactly,"  agreed  Mr.  Sorber,  answering  all 
the  queries  with  one  word.  Then  he  tnrned  to 
little  Louise  Quigg,  to  add: 

**That  means  you  and  your  dad.  You  will  be 
guests  of  the  circus,  too.  Come  on,  now,  Neale, 
turn  your  car  around  and  hurry.  I'm  due  to  get 
into  another  ring  suit — I  always  keep  a  fresh  one 
handy  in  case  of  accident — and  walk  out  before 
the  audience  in  just — le's  see — eleven  minutes, 
now!" 

That  was  surely  a  busy  eleven  minutes  for  all 
concerned.  The  Quiggs  had  to  be  urged  a  little 
to  leave  their  canal  boat  again;  but  Beauty  had 
faithfully  remained  aboard,  even  if  she  had  gone 
to  sleep  at  her  post;  so  they  shut  her  into  the 
partly  burned  cabin  to  guard  the  few  possessions 
that  remained  to  them. 

"We  never  did  have  much,  and  we  ain't  likely 
to  ever  have  much,"  said  the  philosophical 
Louise.  "We  can  bunk  to-night  in  the  hold, 
Pap.  We  couldn't  find  John  and  Jerry  till  morn- 
ing, anyway.  We  might's  well  celebrate  'cause 
the  old  Nancy  Hanks  didn't  all  go  up  in  smoke." 

Luke  telephoned  the  good  news  to  the  old 
Comer  House  that  Dot  and  Sammy  were  found, 
safe  and  sound,  and  that  they  were  all  going  to 
the  circus.  Poor  Tess  had  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
promise  that  the  long-expected  pony  would  be  at 


168    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Ui) 

Milton  in  a  few  days.  News  of  the  runaways* 
safety  was  carried  quickly  to  the  Pinkney  cottage 
across  Willow  Street. 

''It  strikes  me  that  these  kids  are  getting  re- 
warded instead  of  punished  for  running  away,'* 
Luke  obsen'^ed  to  Euth,  when  he  returned  from 
telephoning. 

**But  what  can  we  do!"  the  girl  asked  him. 
*'I  am  so  glad  to  get  Dot  back  that  I  could  not 
possibly  punish  her.  And  I  don't  know  that  she 
did  anything  so  very  wrong.  Nor  do  I  believe 
she  will  do  anything  like  it  again." 

* '  How  about  Sammy ! ' '  the  collegian  asked. 

*'To  tell  the  truth,"  said  honest  Ruth,  *'from 
what  they  both  say  I  Jcancy  Dot  urged  Sammy  to 
run  away.  I  can't  blame  him  if  I  don't  blame 
her,  can  I?" 

*' They've  got  enough,  I  guess,**  chuckled  Luke. 
*'Two  reformed  pirates!  Goodness!  aren't  kids 
the  greatest  ever?" 

The  escapade  of  Sammy  and  Dot  had  carried 
its  own  punishment  with  it.  Ruth  was  right  when 
she  said  that  Dot  would  never  yield  to  such  a 
temptation  again.  She  had  learned  something 
about  running  away.  As  for  Sammy,  he  was 
more  subdued  than  the  Comer  House  girls  had 
ever  seen  him  before. 

That  is,  he  was  subdued  until  they  were  in  what 
Mr.  Sorber  called  "a  private  box"  at  the  ringside 
of  the  circus  and  things  began  to  happen.  Then, 
what  small  boy  could  remain  subdued  with  the 


Scalawag  Gets  a  New  Home        169 

joys  and  wonders  of  a  real  circus  evolving  before 
his  eyes? 

If  the  tents  were  dusty  and  patched,  and  some 
of  the  costumes  as  frayed  and  tarnished  as  they 
could  be  after  two-thirds  of  a  season's  wear,  all 
the  glamour  of  the  famous  entertainment  was 
here — the  smell  of  the  animals,  the  dancing  dust 
in  the  lamplight,  the  flaring  torches,  the  blaring 
of  the  band,  the  distant  roaring  of  the  lions  being 
fed  for  the  amusement  of  the  spectators. 

The  grand  entrance  was  a  marvel  to  the 
children.  The  curveting  horses,  the  gaily  decked 
chariots,  the  daring  drivers  in  pink  and  blue  tights 
and  the  very  pink-cheeked  women  in  the  wonder- 
ful, glittering  clothes — all  these  things  delighted 
Sammy. and  Dot  as  well  as  Louise  Quigg,  who  had 
never  in  her  cramped  life  seen  such  a  show. 

When  Mr.  Sorber  entered  in  his  fresh  suit  and 
cracked  his  whip,  and  the  band  began  to  play, 
Louise  became  absorbed.  When  the  clowns 
leaped  into  the  ring  with  a  chorused:  **Here  we 
are  again!"  Dot  and  Sammy  and  Louise  clutched 
hands  without  knowing  it,  and  just  **held  on'*  to 
themselves  and  each  other  during  most  of  the 
entertainment  that  followed. 

But  the  greatest  excitement  for  the  smaller 
people  in  the  private  box  occurred  toward  the  end 
of  the  evening  when  a  squad  of  ponies  came  in 
to  do  their  tricks.  There  were  black  ponies  and 
white,  and  dappled  and  red  ponies;  but  the 
prettiest  of  all  (both  Dot  and  the  gasping  Louise 


170    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

declared  it)  was  the  brown  and  cream  colored 
Scalawag,  with  the  pink  nose  and  ears. 

Sammy,  feeling  his  superiority  as  a  boy  in  most 
instances,  even  at  the  circus,  dropped  every  ap- 
pearance of  cabn  when  Neale  pointed  out  Scala- 
wag as  the  calico  pony  promised  Tess  and  Dot 
by  Uncle  Bill  Sorber. 

**0h,  my  granny!"  gasped  the  youngster,  his 
eyes  fairly  bulging,  **you  don't  mean  that's  the 
pony  I  thought  was  like  a  Teddy  bear!" 

** That's  the  one  the  girls  are  going  to  have  for 
their  very  own.  Uncle  Rufus  has  been  building 
a  stall  in  the  far  shed  for  it — ^next  to  Billy 
Bumps,"  Neale  assured  him. 

*'And  it  is  chocolate  and  cream  and  pink!*^  ex- 
claimed Sammy.  He  turned  suddenly  to  Agnes. 
**0h,  I  say,  Aggie  I"  he  shouted.  **You  did  know 
all  about  what  a  calico  pony  was  like,  didn't 
you?" 

Agnes  herself  was  delighted  with  the  pretty 
creature.  Of  course,  he  was  awfully  round  and 
fat;  but  he  appeared  so  funny  and  cute  when  he 
looked  out  at  the  audience  from  under  his  braided 
bang,  that  Scalawag  quite  endeared  himself  to  all 
their  hearts. 

He  was  something  of  a  clown  in  the  troupe  of 
ponies.  He  always  started  last  when  an  order 
was  given  and  when  he  had  anything  to  do  by 
himself  he  appeared  **to  really  hate"  to  do  it. 
Mr.  Sorber  seemed  to  get  very  angry,  and  he 


Scalawag  Gets  a  New  Home         171 

lashed  at  the  pony  quite  furiously  and  shouted  at 
him,  so  that  the  little  girls  squealed. 

But  the  whiplash  only  wound  about  Scalawag's 
neck  and  did  not  hurt  him,  while  he  put  his  head 
around  and  looked  at  the  ringmaster  when  he 
shouted,  as  though  to  ask  Uncle  Bill  Sorber: 
"What's  your  hurry?" 

**He's  almost  the  oldest  live  thing  in  the  show," 
chuckled  Neale  to  Luke.  "I  can  remember  him 
when  I  was  a  little  fellow  and  was  first  taken  into 
the  ring  as  the  *  Infantile  Wonder  of  the  Ages'.  I 
rode  Scalawag.  He  was  so  fat  then  that  I 
couldn't  have  rolled  off  his  back  very  easily. 

**  Nothing  older  with  the  show,  I  guess,  except 
Monolith,  the  moth-eaten  old  elephant,  and  the  big 
tortoise  in  the  sideshow.  They  say  the  elephant's 
over  a  hundred,  and  some  think  the  tortoise  is  two 
hundred  years  old.  So  they  go  Scalawag  a  little 
better  in  age." 

At  the  end  of  the  pony  act  Mr.  Sorber  made 
Scalawag  do  something  that  thrilled  Dot  so  that 
she  whispered  to  Agnes  she  thought  she  ''should 
faint!"  The  ringmaster  led  the  old  pony  right 
over  in  front  of  the  private  box,  and  while  all  the 
people  looked  on,  he  presented  Scalawag  to  Dot 
and  her  absent  sister,  whom  Mr.  Sorber  spoke  of 
as  "T'ressa." 

** Ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  aU  friends,"  began 
the  ringmaster.  *'Twomley  and  Sorber 's  Hercu- 
lean Circus  and  Menagerie  never  does  things  by 


172    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

halves.  Even  when  we  find  ourselves  obhged  to 
get  rid  of  one  of  our  faithful  pufformers  we  make 
provision  for  that  pufformer's  happy  old  age. 

* '  Scalawag  has  always  been  a  trial ;  but  we  have 
borne  with  him.  We  have  stood  his  tricks  and  his 
laziness  for  these  many  moons — ^many  moons,  la- 
dies and  gentlemen.  Now  he  is  going  to  a  good 
home  for  the  rest  of  his  lazy  life  where  all  the 
work,  privations,  et  cetera  of  circus  life  will  be 
but  a  memory  in  his  equine  mind.  Scalawag! 
Salute  your  new  mistress  !'^ 

The  fat  pony  rose  on  his  hind  legs  and  pawed 
the  air,  seemingly  looking  straight  at  Dot.  It 
was  then  the  smallest  Comer  House  girl  thought 
surely  she  would  faint. 


CHAPTEE  XVIII 

A  LONG  LOOK   AHEAD 

Befobe  the  Corner  House  party  and  their  guests 
could  get  away  in  their  automobile  after  the  show, 
and  before  Cap*n  Quigg  and  Louise  had,  in  their 
bashful  way,  thanked  the  young  folks  from  Milton 
for  helping  save  the  burning  canalboat,  Uncle  Bill 
Sorber  appeared  to  bid  the  party  good-night. 

Right  then  and  there  the  ringmaster  made  a 
bargain  with  the  captain  of  the  Nancy  Hanks  to 
transport  Scalawag  to  Milton  on  this  return  trip. 
The  circus  had  sho^Ti  at  the  home  town  of  the 
Corner  House  girls  while  they  were  away  on  their 
motor  trip  earlier  in  the  summer;  so  Mr.  Sorber 
would  not  again  be  in  Milton  during  the  open 
season. 

**01d  Scalawag  has  done  his  last  tricks  in  the 
ring  to-night,"  the  showman  said.  **I'd  made 
my  mind  up  to  that  before  you  young  people  ap- 
peared. And  now  we  had  a  chance  to  make  a  little 
fancy  business  of  it.  I  believe  in  advertising  the 
circus  in  season  and  out.  The  papers  will  give  us 
half  a  column  at  least  to-morrow,  what  with  the 
fire  on  that  barge  and  the  presentation  of  Scala- 
wag to  this  little  girlie  here,"  and  he  shook  hands 
again  with  Dot. 

173 


174    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Dot  was  sound  asleep  before  the  car  was  off  the 
circus  field.  She  and  Sammy  slept  most  of  the 
way  home  and,  it  was  so  late,  when  they  arrived 
most  of  the  congratulations  and  all  the  punish- 
ment due  the  youngsters  was  postponed. 

To  tell  the  truth.  Dot  rose  the  next  morning 
with  a  vague  feeling  that  the  venture  in  piracy, 
as  Luke  Shepard  for  a  long  time  called  it,  was 
something  that  had  happened  to  her  and  Sammy 
in  a  dream.  And  the  adults  were  all  so  glad  that 
the  affair  had  turned  out  happily  that  even  scold- 
ings were  mild. 

Sammy,  however,  had  an  interview  with  his 
father  that  next  evening  that  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion upon  the  boy's  mind. 

For  the  first  time  Sammy  began  to  understand 
that  he  had  an  influence  upon  other  people — 
especially  small  people — that  must  be  for  good 
rather  than  ill.  He  was  the  older,  and  he  should 
not  have  allowed  Dot  to  lead  him  astray.  Be- 
sides, it  was  not  manly  for  a  boy  to  encourage  a 
little  girl  to  do  things  that  might  bring  her  to 
harm. 

*'When  I  go  off  to  be  a  real  pirate,"  Sammy 
confessed  later  to  Neale,  **I  ain't  goin'  to  take 
a  girl  anyway.  No  more.  My  father  says  pirates 
that  carried  off  women  with  'em  never  came  to  a 
good  end." 

The  flurry  of  excitement  and  anxiety  regarding 
Dot  and  Sammy  blew  over  as  all  similar  things 
did.    With  Mrs.  MacCall,  one  may  believe  that 


A  Long  Look  Ahead  175 

there  was  seldom  a  day  passed  at  the  old  Comer 
House  that  did  not  bring  its  own  experiences  of 
a  startling  nature.  Aunt  Sarah  declared  she  was 
kept  *'in  a  fidgit"  all  the  time  by  the  children. 

*'I  don't  know  what  a  fidgit  is,"  Tess  confessed; 
"but  we've  got  to  be  careful  what  we  do  now 
for  a  while,  Dottie." 

**Whyr'  asked  the  little  girl. 

"  'Cause  Aunt  Sarah  seems  awfully  uncom- 
fortable when  she's  in  one  of  those  fidgits.  Yes- 
terday, when  you  were  lost,  she  was  walking  up 
and  down  stairs  and  all  over  the  house.  She  must 
have  walked  miles  I  I  guess  fidgits  are  wearing 
on  her.'* 

The  older  Corner  House  girls  did  not  mean 
that  their  guests  should  feel  neglected  because 
of  the  excitement  about  the  lost  children.  One 
day's  planned  amusement  for  Cecile  and  Luke 
Shepard  was  lost.  The  latter  declared,  however, 
that  pursuing  embryo  pirates  and  saving  burning 
canalboats,  to  say  nothing  of  attending  the  circus, 
seemed  to  him  to  have  made  up  a  more  or  less  in- 
teresting and  exciting  day. 

Luke  was  making  himself  much  liked  by  every 
member  of  the  Comer  House  family.  Even  Aunt 
Sarah  endured  his  presence  with  more  than  usual 
complacency.  Agnes  found  him  a  most  cheerful 
philosopher  and  friend.  The  little  girls  consid- 
ered him,  next  to  Neale  O'Neil,  to  be  the  nicest 
boy  they  had  ever  known. 

Mrs.   MacCall  had  her   say   regarding  Luke 


176     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Shepard,  too.  It  was  to  Kuth,  and  the  outburst 
came  after  the  Scotch  woman  had  ample  time  to 
consider  and  form  her  opinion  of  the  young  man. 

**Hech,  ma  lassie!  there's  a  time  coming  when 
all  o'  ye  will  be  thinkin'  o'  young  men,  an'  bringin* 
them  to  the  hoose.  Forbye  it's  natural  ye  should. 
But  'tis  in  ma  mind,  Ruthie,  ye '11  never  find  one 
more  suited  to  ye  than  yon  bonnie  lad. ' ' 

**0h,  Mrs.  Mac!"  gasped  Ruth,  blushing  furi- 
ously, and  she  actually  ran  out  of  the  room  to 
escape  the  keen  scrutiny  of  the  old  housekeeper. 

The  oldest  Corner  House  girl  was  growing  up. 
One  could  not  doubt  it.  Agnes  exclaimed  one 
morning  as  she  and  Ruth  were  dressing : 

"Why,  Rtithie!  you  really  are  as  big  as  the 
old  girls  now.  Of  course  you  arb.  You  are  just 
as  much  grown  up  as  Carrie  Poole — and  she's 
engaged.  And  so  is  Elizabeth  Forbes.  And 
Annie  Dudley  will  be  married  before  Christmas. 
Oh,  Ruthie !  did  you  ever  think  of  being  married  ? ' ' 

"For  goodness'  sake,  child!"  ejaculated  Ruth, 
hiding  her  face  quickly  from  her  pretty  sister, 
"where  is  your  sense?" 

"My  cents  are  where  my  dollars  are,"  laughed 
Agnes.  "I  am  talking  just  as  good  sense  as  you 
ever  heard,  Ruth  Kenway.  Of  course,  some  day 
you  will  marry. ' ' 

"What  fori"  snapped  her  sister,  inclined  to 
be  a  little  piqued  because  of  Agnes '  insistence. 

' '  To  please  yourself,  I  hope, ' '  Agnes  said  slyly. 
"But  surely  to  please  some  man,  my  dear." 


A  Long  Look  Ahead  177 

**I  don't  know  any  man  I'd  want  to  please — " 

**Hush!"  warned  Agnes,  who  was  looking  ont 
of  the  open  window,  and  she  said  it  with  mischief 
dancing  in  her  eyes.    *  *  There 's  Luke  Shepard. ' ' 

''What  do  you  mean?"  demanded  Ruth,  flar- 
ing up  in  haste,  not  at  all  like  her  usual  placid 
self. 

**Why — on  the  lawn.  Luke  is  on  the  lawn,  I 
was  going  to  say,"  declared  Agnes,  making  inno- 
cent eyes  again.    '*Why  so  touchy?" 

But  her  sister  did  not  answer  her.  To  tell  the 
truth  she  was  being  worried  a  good  deal  by  the 
family 's  interest  in  a  matter  which  she  considered 
should  interest  herself  alone — and  one  other. 

Of  course  she  had  gone  out  with  boys  before, 
had  been  brought  home  from  parties,  had  been 
escort  d  from  evening  meetings.  Boys  had  car- 
ried her  books  home  from  school,  and  invited  her 
to  entertainments,  and  all  that.  But  Ruth  had 
always  been  so  busy — there  were  such  a  multitude 
of  things  she  was  interested  in — that  never  a  sen- 
timental thought  had  entered  her  head  about  any 
of  these  young  swains. 

If  any  of  them  had  been  inclined  to  have  what 
the  slangy  Agnes  called  a  ''crush"  on  Ruth,  they 
had  quickly  discovered  that  she  had  no  use  for 
that  sort  of  thing.  She  made  friends  of  boys  as 
she  made  friends  of  girls — and  that  was  all.  And, 
really,  she  had  never  cared  greatly  to  go  out  much 
or  be  with  boys.  She  only  had  endured  Neale 
about  the  house — or  so  she  believed — because  he 


178     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

was  useful  and  really  was  a  remarkably  domestic 
boy. 

Euth's  mental  attitude  toward  men  was  rapidly 
changing.  She  had  never  in  her  life  before 
thought  so  much  about  boys,  or  young  men,  as 
she  had  during  this  week  that  Luke  Shepard  re- 
mained at  the  house  with  his  sister.  He  seemed 
quite  unlike  any  other  person  that  Ruth  had  ever 
known  before. 

They  were  much  together.  Not,  seemingly,  by 
any  plan  on  either  side.  But  if  Ruth  took  her 
sewing  to  the  front  porch,  like  enough  she  would 
find  Luke  there  reading.  Cecile  and  Agnes  were 
clattering  off  at  all  hours  to  shop,  or  go  to  the 
motion  picture  shows,  or  visit  Agnes '  friends. 

If  Luke  had  anything  to  do  at  all,  usually  it 
was  more  convenient  to  do  it  in  the  company  of 
the  eldest  Corner  House  girl.  And  wherever  they 
met,  or  whatever  they  did,  Ruth  and  Luke  found 
plenty  of  subjects  for  conversation. 

Never  out  of  topics  for  small  talk,  were  they, 
no  indeed!  And  the  most  interesting  things  to 
say  to  each  other!  Of  course,  each  was  deeply 
interested  in  whatever  seemed  of  moment  to  the 
other. 

Not  having  known  each  other  for  very  long, 
Ruth  and  Luke  had  to  learn  many  things  about 
each  other  which  they  would  have  known  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course  had  they  been  brought  up  as  neigh- 
bors. They  wanted  to  learn  each  other's  likes  and 
dislikes  on  a  multitude  of  questions.    Then  they 


A  Long  Look  Ahead  179 

deferred  to  each  other  *8  tastes  in  a  way  that  at 
first  amazed  the  other  people  in  the  house  and  then 
secretly  amused  them. 

That  is,  Mrs.  MacCall,  Agnes,  and  Neale  were 
amused.  Tess  merely  said  seemingly  apropos  of 
nothing  at  all: 

**Our  Ruthie  never  did  like  boys  before.  But 
I  guess  Mr.  Luke  must  be  different. ' ' 

"He  isn't  as  nice  as  Neale,"  Dot  proclaimed, 
loyal  to  the  older  friend,  **but  I  like  him.'* 

Mr.  Howbridge  chanced  to  call — or  was  it 
chance?  At  any  rate,  he  met  Luke  Shepard  and 
his  sister  and  seemed  to  approve  of  both  of  them. 

**Your  young  friends  are  remarkably  attractive, 
I  am  sure,  Ruth,"  the  lawyer  said,  with  twinkling 
eyes  as  he  was  going.  **Let  me  see,  there's  no 
danger  yet  of  a  dowry  being  wanted  out  of  that 
idle  money  we  are  going  to  have — for  Agnes,  for 
instance  ? ' ' 

Ruth  blushed  furiously.  She  was  getting  that 
habit,  it  seemed,  of  late. 

"I  do  wish,  Mr.  Howbridge,  that  you  wouldn't 
joke  so — " 

"On  such  very  serious  subjects'?"  he  interposed. 

"It  would  be  very  serious  indeed  if  oar  Agnes 
thought  of  such  things.     At  her  age!" 

"True.  And,  of  course,  nobody  else  in  this 
house  could  possibly  bear  such  a  thing  in  mind. 
Good-bye,  my  dear.  Of  course,  if  anything  should 
happen,  let  me  know  at  once." 

"Oh,  everything  is  all  right  now,  Mr.  How- 


180     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

bridge, ' '  said  Ruth,  ignoring  his  insinuations.  *  *  I 
am  sure  the  roof  will  not  leak  now  that  the  roofers 
have  been  here.  And,  as  you  say,  the  painting  of 
the  house  would  better  go  until  late  in  the  fall. ' ' 

He  shook  his  finger  at  her  as  he  went  out  of  the 
door. 

**You  are  a  very  bright  young  lady,  Ruth  Ken- 
way.*' 

**Boy,'*  said  Cecile  to  her  brother,  **you  are 
getting  in  deep. ' ' 

"And  glad  of  it,"  growled  Luke,  knowing  full 
well  what  she  meant. 

''But  what  about  Neighbor?" 

"I  am  going  to  see  Neighbor,"  declared  the 
young  man,  looking  very  uncomfortable  but  de- 
cisive.   ''I'm  not  going  to  be  a  cad." 

' '  You  couldn  't  be  that,  Luke, ' '  she  told  him. 

' '  Oh,  yes,  I  could.  I  have  been  tempted, ' '  Luke 
said. 

"Tempted  to  do  what — to  say  what?" 

"To  try  and  make  Ruth  Kenway  like  me  and 
let  me  tell  her  how  very  fond  I  am  of  her  without 
a  thought  for  the  future.  Sis." 

"Oh,  Luke!  You  are  looking  so  very  far 
ahead." 

"I  know  it.  And  with  the  prospect  I  have 
without  Neighbor's  help,  it  would  be  looking  very, 
very  far  indeed.  I  would  be  wrong  to  try  to  tie 
up  any  girl  so  long.  I've  fought  that  all  out.  I 
won't  do  it." 


A  Long  Look  Ahead  181 

"But  what  will  you  do?"  asked  his  sister, 
grieving  for  him  in  both  voice  and  look. 

**See  Neighbor  the  moment  we  get  home.  I'll 
put  it  to  him  straight.  I'll  be  no  man's  slave  and 
for  no  amount  of  money.  If  he  will  see  it  in  the 
right  light  I  shall  stop  off  here  at  Milton  on  my 
way  to  college,  and  just  tell  Ruth  all  about  it." 

**  And  if  Neighbor  will  not  listen  to  reason?" 

"Then  I  must  not  speak  to  Ruth,"  the  young 
man  said  bitterly,  and  turned  abruptly  away  from 
her. 

"Yes.  But,"  murmured  Cecile,  "will  that  be 
kind  to  Ruth?    I  wonder!" 


CHAPTER  XIX 

SCHOOL  BEGINS 

Me.  Sorber  was  a  man  of  his  word.  Scalawag 
arrived  at  the  Comer  House  before  the  end  of  the 
week. 

Dot  had  told  Tess  so  mnch  abont  the  beauties 
of  the  fat  little  creatnre  that  the  older  sister  could 
scarcely  wait  to  see  the  pony. 

**I  almost  wish  I*d  run  away  to  be  a  pirate  my- 
self with  Sammy  Pinkney,  just  to  see  that  pony 
do  his  tricks  in  the  ring,"  Tess  declared,  with  a 
sigh  of  envy. 

*  *  Oh,  no,  you  wouldn  *t !  No,  you  wouldn  't,  Tessf 
Kenwayl"  Dot  hastened  to  say.  *'We  had  just 
a  nawful  time.    Hiding  in  that  dark  hole — '  * 

*'Hold,  Dot— hold!"  reminded  Tess. 

**  Well,  it  was  a  hole — so  there !"  her  little  sister 
said.  *'And  there  were  rats  in  it — and  maybe 
worse  things.     Only  they  didn't  bite  us." 

With  Scalawag,  the  calico  pony,  came  Louise 
Quigg  and  her  father.  The  Nancy  Hanks  had 
been  moored  near  Meadow  Street  again  and  the 
canalboatman  and  his  little  girl  had  brought  the 
pony  ashore  and  led  him  to  his  new  home. 

"Oh,  you  beautiful!"  cried  Tess,  and  hugged 
Scalawag  around  the  neck. 

182 


School  Begins  183 

The  entire  Comer  House  family — and  some  of 
the  neighbors — gathered  to  greet  the  little  girls* 
new  pet.  Scalawag  stood  very  placidly  and 
accepted  all  the  petting  that  they  wished  to  shower 
upon  him. 

**He  eats  it  up  I"  laughed  Neale,  poking  the 
pony  in  his  fat  side.  "You  old  villain!  you've 
certainly  struck  a  soft  snap  now." 

Scalawag  brushed  flies  and  wagged  his  ears 
knowingly.  Tom  Jonah  came  up  to  him  and  they 
companionably  ** snuffed  noses,"  as  Sammy  said. 
But  Billy  Bumps  had  to  be  kept  at  a  distance,  for 
he  showed  a  marked  desire  to  butt  the  new  mem- 
ber of  the  Comer  House  family  of  pets. 

Louise  and  her  father  were  entertained  very 
nicely  by  the  little  girls  and  Sammy.  Cap'n  Bill 
Quigg  was  a  simple-minded  man,  after  all ;  he  did 
not  seem  to  deserve  the  bad  name  that  the  crabbed 
old  lock-keeper  had  given  him.  He  might  have 
been  slow  and  shiftless ;  but  he  was  scarcely  any 
more  grown  up  than  little  Louise  herself. 

Ruth  Kenway,  now  that  her  mind  was  less  dis- 
turbed than  it  had  been  the  evening  when  they 
had  been  searching  for  Sammy  and  Dot,  gave 
more  of  her  attention  to  the  neglected  canalboat 
girl.  She  planned  then  and  there  to  do  something 
worth  while  for  Louise  Quigg;  and  in  time  these 
plans  of  the  oldest  Comer  House  girl  bore  fruit. 

On  Saturday  the  Shepards  went  back  to  Gran- 
tham, for  the  next  week  Cecile  and  Luke  would 
go  to  their  respective  schools.    Luke  bade  Euth 


184    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

good-bye  in  public.  He  sought  no  opportunity  of 
speaking  to  her  alone.  If  the  girl  felt  any  sur- 
prise at  this  she  did  not  show  her  feehng — or 
anything  save  kindly  comradery — ^while  speeding 
the  partmg  guests. 

Again  on  Saturday  night  the  young  folks  gath- 
ered for  study  in  the  Comer  House  sitting-room. 
There  had  been  very  little  time  during  this  last 
week  of  the  long  vacation  to  look  at  school  books. 

It  is  pretty  hard  to  settle  down  to  study  after 
so  long  an  absence  from  textbooks.  Agnes  actu- 
ally wrinkled  her  pretty  forehead  in  a  scowl  when 
she  opened  her  school  books. 

*'Wliat  does  the  doctor  say  is  mostly  the  matter 
with  you,  Aggie?"  demanded  Neale  O'Neil,  chuck- 
ling at  her  somber  expression  of  countenance. 

**I  don't  know,"  growled  Agnes — if  a  girl  with 
such  a  sweet  voice  could  be  said  to  growl.  **It 
must  be  something  awful.  He  asked  to  see  my 
tongue  and  then  he  said,  *  Overworked ! '  " 

*'He  was  perfectly  correct,  dear  child,"  Ruth 
said.    "Do  give  it  a  rest." 

**  And  we'U  all  rest  if  you  do,"  Neale  added. 

"You're  all  so  smart!"  cried  Agnes.  "And 
Neale  O'Neil  never  did  appreciate  me.  He  is 
going  to  grow  up  to  be  a  woman-hater — ^like  that 
man  Cecile  Shepard  told  us  about,  who  lives  next 
door  to  them  in  Grantham." 

"Oh,  yes — Neighbor,"  Ruth  murmured. 

"I  know,"  said  Dot  cheerfully.  "The  misogy- 
nist." 


School  Begins  185 

''Whatf  gasped  Tess,  staring  at  her  little  sis- 
ter who  had  mouthed  the  word  so  deftly.  *'I 
never,  Dot!  What  is  that?  It — it  sounds — 
Why,  Dot  I" 

The  astonishment  of  the  whole  family  at  the 
way  in  which  the  smallest  girl  had  said  the  word 
had  pleased  Dot  greatly.  She  quite  preened  and 
tossed  her  head. 

**0h,  Mr.  Luke  taught  it  to  me,*'  she  admitted. 
**He  said  it  was  such  a  jaw-breaker  that  he  was 
afraid  I'd  have  a  bad  accident  if  I  tried  to  say  it 
without  being  told  just  how.  It 's  a  real  nice  word, 
I  think.  Much  nicer  than  efficatacious.  That's 
another  word  I  Ve  learned  to  say. ' ' 

They  laughed  at  her  then  and  Dot's  sudden 
pride  was  quenched. 

Sammy  was  almost  the  only  earnest  student  on 
this  evening.  He  had  met  some  of  his  boy  school- 
mates during  the  past  week  and  he  found  that 
he  desired  very  much  to  be  with  them  in  the  grade 
they  were  making. 

*  *  I  bet  I  can  make  it  if  they  do, ' '  he  said.  *  *  Any- 
way, my  head's  just  empty  of  studying  now,  so 
it  ought  to  hold  a  lot.  I'll  cram  it  chock  full  of 
the  stuff  in  these  books  and  then  I  won't  have  to 
work  so  hard  by  and  by,"  he  added,  evidently 
with  the  hope  that  he  might  obtain  education  by 
the  occasional  cart-load,  instead  of  by  driblets. 

Neale  and  Agnes  were  still  ** scrapping"  in  their 
own  peculiar  way.  The  beauty  accused  Neale 
again  of  being  a  harsh  critic. 


186    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

*'You  never  do  say  a  good  word  about  any  of 
my  friends,"  she  declared. 

''He's  wise  in  not  doing  so,"  laughed  Ruth. 
"Then  there  will  be  no  starting  point  for  jeal- 
ousy. ' ' 

*'Now  youVe  said  something!"  declared  Neale. 

** Humph  I  He  wouldn't  know  a  real  sweet  girl 
if  he  met  one,"  Agnes  said. 

**0h,  yes.  I  know  a  sweet  girl,"  the  ex-circus 
boy  said  with  twinkling  eyes. 

''Who  is  she?" 

*' Carrie  Mel,"  returned  Neale  quietly. 

"Carrie  Who?'*  demanded  Agnes,  while  the 
little  folks,  too,  pricked  up  their  ears. 

"And  there's  that  very  pleasant  girl — Jenny 
Eosity, ' '  the  boy  said  with  a  perfectly  serious  face. 
"And  I'm  sure  that  Ella  Gant  is  one  of  the  very 
best  of  girls — " 

Agnes  giggled. 

"What  do  you  mean?  Who  are  you  talking 
about?"  asked  Dot,  much  puzzled.  "Are  they 
friends  of  Aggie  and  Ruthie?  I  never  heard  of 
that  Carrie — What  did  you  say  her  name  was?" 

"The  sweet  girl?  Oh !  Carrie  Mel,"  said  Neale. 
And  Jenny  Rosity  and  Ella  Gant.  Who  are 
they?" 

"Then  there's  that  very  lively  girl,  Annie 
Mation,"  pursued  Neale,  racking  his  brain  to  dis- 
cover other  punning  words.  "And  despite  her 
superabundance  of  avoirdupois,  Ellie  Phant  can- 
not be  overlooked." 


School  Begins  187 

"Well,  I  never!  Elephant!**  gasped  Tess. 
"And  caramel!" 

"And  elegant  and  generosity,"  added  Agnes. 

"Don't  forget  Annie  Mation,"  said  Neale, 
grinning,  * '  She 's  a  lively  one.  But  Annie  Mosity 
is  one  of  the  most  disagreeable  girls  I  ever  met." 

From  that  they  began  making  out  lists  of  such 
punning  names,  including  Amelia  Eation,  E.  Lucy 
Date,  Polly  Gon,  Hettie  Rodoxy,  Jessie  Mine, 
Sarah  Nade,  and  dozens  of  others,  even  searching 
out  "Mr.  Dick"  to  help  them  in  this  remarkably 
erudite  task. 

Finally  Ruth  called  them  to  time  and  warned 
them  that  the  evening  was  supposed  to  be  spent 
in  serious  study. 

"Monday  we  must  all  go  to  school,"  she  said, 
for  even  she  was  to  take  several  studies  during  the 
coming  term,  although  she  did  not  mean  to  attend 
recitations  full  time  at  the  Milton  high  school. 

"Let  us  be  able  to  answer  a  few  questions  intel- 
ligently." 

"I  guess,"  said  Tess,  "we  won't  any  of  us  be 
as  ignorant  as  one  of  the  boys  was  in  my  class  last 
term.  It  wasn't  Sammy,  for  he  was  home  sick, 
you  know,"  she  hastened  to  add,  fearful  that  Sam- 
my Pinkney  might  suspect  her  of  "telling  on 
him.'* 

"Who  was  it  then?"  asked  Sammy. 

"No.  I'll  only  tell  you  what  he  said,"  Tess 
declared,  shaking  her  head.  "  'Cause  I  guess  he 
knows  more  now.    The  teacher  read  us  a  lot  about 


188    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

history.  You  know,  things  that  happened  to  folks 
away  back,  and  what  they  did.  You  know  about 
the  Pilgrims,  don't  you,  Sammy!" 

**Sure,"  said  Sammy.  **They  brought  over 
from  England  all  that  old  furniture  Mrs.  Adams 
has  got  in  her  parlor.     She  told  me  so." 

**Were — ^were  the  Pilgrims  furniture  movers?" 
asked  Dot,  as  usual  in  search  of  exact  information. 
"I  know  a  little  girl  whose  father  owns  a  moving 
van." 

Tess  tried  to  continue  her  story  after  the  laugh- 
ter subsided.  "Anyway,  teacher  told  us  how  the 
Pilgrims  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock  and  how  it 
looked  and  what  they  engraved  on  a  plate  and  put 
there;  but  this  little  boy  wasn't  paying  much  at- 
tention I  guess." 

*  *  Why  ?    What  did  he  do,  Tess  ? ' '  asked  Sammy. 

*  *  She  told  us  all  to  draw  a  picture  of  Plymouth 
Bock,  just  as  she  had  described  it;  and  while  we 
were  all  trying  to  that  boy  didn't  draw  a  thing. 
Teacher  asked  him  why  he  didn't  draw  Plymouth 
Rock,  and  he  said: 

**  'Teacher,  I  don't  know  whether  you  want  us 
to  draw  a  hen  or  a  rooster.'  Now,  wouldn't  you 
think  he  was  ignorant?"  she  demanded  amid  the 
laughter  of  the  family. 

They  settled  down  at  last  to  work,  and  before 
Neale  and  Sammy  went  home  each  of  the  party 
was  prepared  in  some  measure,  at  least,  to  face 
the  teachers'  first  grilling  regarding  the  previous 
term's  work. 


School  Begins  189 

Euth  busied  herself  more  and  more  about  the 
domestic  affairs  of  the  big  house.  Mrs.  MacCall 
could  not  do  it  all,  nor  did  Ruth  wish  her  to. 

The  oldest  Comer  House  girl  was  becoming  a 
modem  as  well  as  an  enthusiastic  housekeeper. 
She  read  and  studied  not  a  little  in  domestic  sci- 
ence and  had  been  even  before  they  came  to  live 
in  Milton  a  good,  plain  cook.  Mr.  Howbridge  had 
once  called  her  ** Martha"  because  she  was  so  cum- 
bered with  domestic  cares.  Ruth,  however,  had 
within  her  a  siucere  love  for  household  details. 

Mrs.  MacCall,  who  was  almost  as  sparmg  of 
praise  as  Aunt  Sarah  at  most  times,  considered 
Ruth  a  wonder. 

''She'll  mak*  some  mannie  a  noble  wife,*'  the 
Scotch  woman  declared,  with  both  pride  and  ad- 
miration in  **Our  Ruth.'* 

**But  he'll  not  deserve  her,*'  snapped  Aunt 
Sarah,  rather  in  disparagement  of  any  man,  how- 
ever, than  in  praise  of  Ruth. 

Now  that  Luke  and  his  sister  were  gone,  the 
housekeeper  watched  Ruth  more  keenly,  even, 
than  before.  The  good  woman  was  evidently 
amazed,  after  the  close  association  of  Ruth  and 
Luke,  that  nothing  had  come  of  it. 

If  the  eldest  of  the  four  Kenway  sisters  felt 
any  disappointment  because  Luke  Shepard  had 
gone  away  without  saying  anything  in  private  to 
her  regarding  his  hopes  and  aspirations,  she 
showed  none  of  that  disappointment  in  her  man- 
ner or  appearance. 


190    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Save  that  she  seemed  more  sedate  than  ever. 

That  might  be  natural  enough,  however.  Even 
Mrs.  MacCall  admitted  that  Ruth  was  growing  up. 

"And  I  should  like  to  know  if  we're  not  all 
growing  up?"  Agnes  demanded,  overhearing  Mrs. 
McCall  repeat  the  above  statement.  Agnes  had 
come  down  into  the  kitchen  on  Monday  morning, 
ready  for  school. 

**I  should  say  we  were!  Euth  won't  let  me 
*hoo-hoo'  from  the  window  to  Neale  for  him  to 
come  and  take  my  books.  Says  it  isn't  ladylike, 
and  that  I  am  too  old  for  such  tomboy  tricks. 
So,"  and  the  roguish  beauty  whispered  this,  **I  am 
under  the  necessity  of  climbing  the  back  fence 
into  Mr.  Con  Murphy's  yard  to  get  at  Neale,"  and 
she  ran  off  to  put  this  threat  into  immediate  exe- 
cution. 


CHAPTER  XX 

BEABDINO   THE   LION 

Luke  Shepard  went  back  to  Grantham  with 
Cecile  in  a  mood  that  caused  his  sympathetic  sis- 
ter to  speak  upon  mere  commonplace  subjects  and 
scarcely  mention  the  friends  with  whom  they  had 
spent  the  week.  She  knew  Luke  was  plowing  deep 
waters,  and  whether  his  judgment  was  wise  or  not, 
she  respected  his  trouble. 

The  young  man  believed  he  had  no  right  to  pre- 
sent his  case  to  Ruth  Kenway  if  he  had  no  brighter 
prospects  for  a  future  living  than  what  he  could 
make  by  his  own  exertions.  Necessarily  for  some 
years  after  leaving  college  this  would  be  meager. 
Without  his  elderly  friend's  promised  aid  how 
could  he  ask  the  oldest  Comer  House  girl  to  share 
his  fortunes  1 

As  for  tying  her  to  a  long  engagement — the  most 
heart-breaking  of  all  human  possibilities — the 
young  man  would  not  do  it.  He  told  himself  half 
a  hundred  times  an  hour  that  the  thought  could 
merely  be  born  into  his  mind  of  his  own  selfish- 
ness. 

The  Kenways  had  suffered  enough  in  poverty 
in  the  past.  He  knew  all  about  their  hard  life 
after  Mr.  Kenway  had  died,  for  Ruth  had  told 

191 


192     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

him  of  it  herself.  Until  Luke  could  get  into  bus- 
iness after  his  college  days  were  ended  and  make 
good,  he  would  have  little  to  offer  Euth  Kenway 
of  either  luxuries  or  comforts. 

So,  the  young  fellow  told  himself,  it  all  depended 
upon  Neighbor  Northrup,  who  had  promised  to 
do  so  much  for  him,  provided  Luke  gave  no  sign 
of  desiring  the  company  of  a  wife  through  life. 

**He*s  just  a  ridiculous,  crabbed  old  man,"  Luke 
told  himself.  "I  never  paid  much  attention  to 
Neighbor's  crotchets  before  I  met  Ruth.  Didn't 
suppose  I'd  ever  really  care  enough  about  a  girl 
to  risk  displeasing  him. 

"Of  course,  he's  been  awfully  kind  to  me — and 
promises  to  be  kinder.  I  ^:elieve  I  am  named  in 
his  will.  Yet,  I  wonder  if  it's  much  to  brag  of 
for  a  fellow  with  all  his  limbs  sound,  presumably 
his  share  of  brains,  and  all  that,  to  be  expecting 
a  lift-up  in  the  world.  Maybe  I'm  rather  leaning 
back  on  the  old  gentleman's  promises  instead  of 
looking  ahead  to  paddling  my  own  canoe.  Any- 
way I'm  not  going  to  spoil  my  whole  life  just 
because  of  such  nonsense." 

Luke  Shepard  felt  immensely  superior  at  this 
time  to  Mr.  Northrup  with  his  crotchets  and 
foibles.  The  latter 's  rooted  objection  to  women 
seemed  to  the  young  collegian  the  height  of  folly. 

Aunt  Lorena's  was  quite  a  little  house  beside 
Mr.  Henry  Northrup 's  abode.  "Whereas  the  flow- 
er-beds, and  hedge,  and  the  climbing  roses  about 
Vie  spinster's  cottage  made  a  pleasant  picture, 


Bearding  the  Lion  193 

the  old  Northnip  house  was  somber  indeed.  The 
bachelor's  dwelling,  with  its  padlocked  front  gate, 
did  not  look  cheerful  enough  to  attract  even  a 
book  agent. 

For  some  years  Luke  had  spent  quite  as  much 
time  on  Neighbor's  premises  as  he  had  with  his 
aunt  and  Cecile.  There  were  many  little  things 
he  could  do  for  the  old  man  that  the  latter  could 
not  hire  done.  Samri,  as  the  Japanese  butler 
was  called,  could  not  do  everything. 

Arriving  at  Grantham  ta  the  late  afternoon, 
Luke  stopped  only  a  moment  to  greet  Aunt  Lorena 
before  hurrying  across  the  line  fence  into  Neigh- 
bor's yard. 

**For  the  good  land's  sake!"  sighed  Miss  Shep- 
ard,  who  was  very  precise,  if  not  dictatorial,  **it 
does  seem  as  though  that  boy  might  stay  with 
us  a  minute.  Off  he  has  to  go  at  once  to  Neigh- 
bor. You  would  think  they  were  sweethearts — 
Luke  and  that  crabbed  old  fellow." 

Cecile  winced.  **Luke  has  something  on  his 
mind.  Auntie — something  that  he  thinks  he  must 
tell  Neighbor  at  once, ' '  and  she,  too,  sighed.  *  *  Oh, 
dear!  how  it  is  all  coming  out  I  really  don't  know. 
I  am  almost  sorry  we  went  to  the  Kenways'  to 
visit. ' ' 

**Why,  Cecile!  didn't  they  treat  you  nicely!" 

**  Splendidly.  They  are  all  dears — especially 
Ruthie.    But  it  is  because  of  her  I  am  worried." 

"Indeed?" 

**She  and  Luke  have  become  very  friendly— oh, 


194    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

entirely  too  friendly,  if  nothing  is  to  come  of 
it." 

Aunt  Lorena  dearly  loved  a  romance.  Her 
eyes  began  to  sparkle  and  a  faint  flush  came  into 
her  withered  cheek. 

*  *  You  don 't  mean  it,  Sissy  ? ' '  she  gasped.  * '  Not 
our  Luke?  The  dear  boy!  Think  of  his  having 
a  sweetheart!" 

**0h,  but  I  don't  know  that  he  has  one!  I  am 
afraid  he  ought  not  even  to  think  of  it!"  cried 
Cecile. 

** Nonsense!  Why  not?  Your  father  was  mar- 
ried when  he  was  no  older  than  Luke.  And  of 
course  the  dear  boy  would  wait  till  he  graduates." 

**And  for  a  long  time  after,  I  fear,"  said  Cecile, 
shaking  her  head.  She  really  saw  the  folly  of 
such  an  idea  much  more  quickly  than  Aunt  Lorena. 

**Is  this  Ruth  Kenway  a  nice  girl?"  queried 
Aunt  Lorena  eagerly.  "And  is  Luke  actually 
fond  of  her?" 

**As  fond  as  he  can  be  I  do  believe,"  admitted 
the  sister,  still  shaking  her  head. 

*'And — and  do  you  suppose  Miss  Kenway  ap- 
preciates our  Luke?" 

**I  guess  she  likes  him,"  said  Cecile,  smiling 
a  little  at  the  question.  **I  am  sure  she  does,  in 
fact.  But  Luke  will  say  nothing  to  her  unless 
Neighbor  agrees." 

"Mercy!  He's  not  gone  to  tell  that  old  man 
about  the  girl?" 

**0f  course." 


Bearding  the  Lion  195 

"Well!  Of  all  things!  The  ridiculous  hoy!'' 
ejaculated  Aunt  Lorena.  **He  might  know  that 
Mr.  Northrup  will  be  greatly  vexed.  Why,  he 
hates  women!" 

**Yes,  I  am  afraid  Luke  wiU  have  a  bad  time 
with  Neighbor,*'  said  Cecile,  anxiously. 

She  was  quite  right  in  her  supposition.  Luke 
Shepard  appeared  before  the  grim  old  man  as 
the  latter  sat  in  his  study  and,  being  a  perfectly 
candid  youth,  he  blurted  out  his  news  without 
much  preparation.  Immediately  after  shaking 
hands,  and  asking  after  Mr.  Northrup 's  health, 
he  said: 

"Neighbor,  IVe  got  a  great  secret  to  tell  you." 

"Heh?  A  secret?  What  is  it?  Broke  some- 
body's window,  have  you?"  for  his  elderly  friend 
often  seemed  to  think  Luke  stiU  a  small  boy. 

"That  wouldn't  be  a  great  secret,"  the  young 
man  said  quietly.  "No.  It  is  the  greatest  thing 
that's  ever  come  into  my  life." 

The  old  man,  who  could  look  very  sternly  indeed 
from  under  his  heavy  brows,  gazed  now  with  ap- 
prehension at  his  young  friend. 

"You  don't  mean  you  think  you've  changed 
your  mind  about  your  college  work?" 

"No,  sir.  But  there  is  one  thing  I  want  to  do 
after  I  get  through  college  that  I  never  thought 
of  doing  before." 

"What's  the  matter  with  you,  boy?"  demanded 
Mr.  Northrup,  exasperated. 

"You  know  I  have  been  away  with  Cecile  to  see 


196    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

some  friends  of  ours.  And  one  of  them,  Miss 
Kenway — Ruth — is  the  nicest  girl  I  ever  met." 

"A  girl!"  literally  snorted  Neighbor. 

"Ruth  Kenway  is  splendid,'*  said  Luke  firmly. 
**She  is  lovely.  And — ^aud  I  think  very,  very 
much  of  her.** 

**What  do  you  mean,  boy!"  the  old  man  de- 
manded, his  deep-set  eyes  fairly  flashing.  **Why 
do  you  tell  me  about  any  silly  girl?  Don't  you 
know  that  it  offends  me?  I  can,  and  do,  endure 
your  speaking  of  your  sister.  It  is  not  your  fault 
you  have  a  sister.  But  it  will  be  your  fault  if  you 
ever  allow  yourself  to  become  entangled  with  any 
other  woman. ' ' 

**But,  Neighbor,"  said  the  young  man  des- 
perately, "I  couldn't  help  it.  I  tell  you  I  admire 
Ruth  Kenway  immensely — immensely !  I  want  to 
make  her  care  for  me,  too.    I  want — I  want — " 

**The  moon!"  roared  Mr.  Northrup.  ** That's 
what  you  are  crying  for — like  any  baby.  And 
you  11  not  get  it — ^neither  the  moon  nor  the  girl. 
What  have  I  always  told  you?  If  you  are  fool 
enough  to  get  mixed  up  with  any  girl,  I  wash  my 
hands  of  you.    Understand?" 

"Yes,"  said  Luke,  flushing  deeply  during  this 
tirade  but  holding  his  own  temper  admirably  in 
check.  "Yes,  I  understand.  But  I'd  like  to  talk 
with  you  about  it — " 

"You  can't  talk  to  me  about  any  ^rl!" 

"But  I  must,"  insisted  Luke.    "You  see,  I — I 


Bearding  the  Lion  197 


'to 


love  her.  And  if  I  can  possibly  do  it,  I  am  going 
to  win  her  for  a  wife — some  day." 

The  old  gentleman  arose  in  anger. 

"Do  you  mean  to  stand  there  and  deliberately 
defy  met" 

**I  am  not  defying  yon,  Neighbor;  I*m  only  tell- 
ing you,"  Luke  said,  rather  doggedly,  it  must  be 
confessed.    But  his  own  eyes  were  glowing. 

**  After  my  declaration  to  you  that  I  will  have 
nothing  more  to  do  with  you  if  you  fool  with  any 
girls — " 

* '  I  'm  not !  * '  snapped  Luke.  *  *  It  is  only  one  girl. 
The  best  girl  in  the  world.  I  wish  you'd  go  to 
Milton  to  see  her. ' ' 

**Go  to  Milton?  Indeed!  I  wouldn't  go 
there — " 

He  stopped  and  glowered  at  Luke  for  a  moment 
without  speaking.    Then  he  asked  harshly: 

"So  this  girl  lives  in  Milton?" 

"Yes,  sir.  At  the  old  Comer  House,  And  she 
is  lovely — " 

"Be  still!"  commanded  the  old  man.  "Young 
calf  I  Do  you  suppose  I  am  interested  in  your 
protestations  of  silliness  about  a  girlf  I  want 
to  hear  nothing  more  about  it.  You  understand 
my  wishes  well  enough.  I  will  never  do  a  thing 
for  you  after  you  graduate — ^I  will  strike  you  out 
of  my  will — I  '11  close  my  door  against  you,  if  you 
entangle  yourself  in  any  way  with  this  girl." 

"Oh,  Neighbor!"  murmured  Luke  sadly,  step- 


198     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

ping  back  from  the  old  man's  wildly  gesturing 
arm. 

*'I  mean  it.  I  always  mean  what  I  say,"  de- 
clared Mr.  Northrup.  **You  should  know  me  well 
enough  by  this  time.  A  girl — faugh!  You  trou- 
ble me  any  more  about  this  girl — or  any  other — 
and  I'll  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  you." 

"Very  well,  Mr.  Northrup.  Good-bye,"  said 
Luke,  and  turned  toward  the  door. 

"Where  are  you  going,  you  young  whipper- 
snapper!"  roared  the  old  man. 

*  *  I  have  made  up  my  mind.  I  will  win  Kuth  if 
I  can — though  with  my  poor  prospects  I  have  no 
right  to  speak  to  her  now.  But  it  would  not  be 
right,  when  you  feel  as  you  do,  for  me  to  accept 
any  further  favors  from  you  when  I  am  deter- 
mined in  my  heart  to  get  Ruth  in  spite  of  you." 

The  door  closed  quietly  behind  him  before  the 
old  man  could  utter  another  word.  He  stared  at 
the  door,  then  sat  down  slowly  and  his  face  lost 
its  angry  color. 

Mr.  Henry  Northrup  was  apparently  both 
pained  and  amazed.  Perhaps  he  was  mostly  con- 
fused because  Luke  Shepard  had  taken  him  quite 
at  his  word. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

ADVENTURES   WITH   SCALAWAG 

Dot  came  home  to  the  old  Comer  House  the 
first  day  of  the  school  term  with  what  Neale 
O'Neil  would  have  called  **  serious  trouble  in  the 
internal  department."  She  was  ravenously  hun- 
gry; and  yet  she  had  eaten  a  good  lunch  and 
did  not  like  to  demand  of  Mrs.  MacCall  that  bite 
between  meals  which  was  so  abhorred  by  the 
Scotchwoman. 

**  You  have  no  more  right  to  eat  'twixt  one  meal 
and  t'other  by  day  than  you  have  to  demand  a 
loonch  in  the  middle  of  the  night,*'  was  often  the 
good  woman 's  observation  when  she  was  asked  for 
a  mid-afternoon  lunch. 

Ruth  was  easier.  She  had  not  been  brought  up 
in  the  rigid,  repressive  school  that  had  surrounded 
Mrs.  MacCall 's  childhood.  As  for  Linda,  the 
Finnish  girl,  if  she  had  her  way  she  would  be 
"stuffing"  (to  quote  Mrs.  MacCall)  the  children 
all  the  time. 

"You  sh'd  train  your  stomach  to  be  your  clock, 
child,"  Mrs.  MacCall  declared  on  this  occasion, 
after  Dot  had  finally  mustered  up  her  courage  to 
ask  for  the  lunch. 

199 


200     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

"I  try  to,  Mrs.  Mac,"  said  the  smallest  Comer 
House  girl  apologetically.  **But  sometimes  my 
stomach's  fast." 

That  started  the  ball  rolling  that  evening,  and 
the  dinner  table  proved  to  be  a  hilarious  place. 
But  Ruth  was  very  quiet  and  her  countenance  car- 
ried a  serious  cast  that  might  have  been  noticed 
had  the  others  not  all  been  so  gay  and  excited. 
The  first  day  of  the  term  is  always  an  exciting 
time.  Everything  about  the  school — even  old 
things — seems  strange. 

Dot  had  of  course  learned  to  write  as  well  as 
to  read;  and  indeed  she  wrote  a  very  plain  and 
readable  hand.  Even  Mrs.  MacCall  could  see  it 
** without  her  specs." 

**I  do  abominate  these  folks  whose  handwriting 
is  so  fine  that  I  have  to  run  to  get  my  glasses  to 
know  whether  it's  an  invitation  to  tea  or  to  tell  me 
some  bad  news,"  the  housekeeper  declared,  in  dis- 
cussing Dot's  improved  writing. 

The  little  girl  was  passing  around  a  paper  on 
which  she  had  copied  a  sentence  that  her  teacher 
had  written  on  the  blackboard  just  before  closing 
hour  that  day.  "With  an  idea  of  testing  the  chil- 
dren's knowledge  of  English,  the  teacher  had 
written  the  line  and  told  her  class  to  think  it  over 
and,  in  the  morning,  bring  her  the  sentence  rewrit- 
ten in  different  words,  but  retaining  the  original 
meaning. 

It  was  the  old  proverb:  **A  wink  is  as  good  as 
a  nod  to  a  blind  horse." 


Adventures  witl^  Scalawag  201 

**0f  course,  I  know  what  it  means,**  Dot  said. 
**If  a  horse  is  bliad  he  wouldn't  see  you  nodding 
or  winking.  And  winking  isn't  polite,  anyway — 
Ruth  says  it  isn't." 

*' Correct,  Dottums,"  Agnes  agreed.  "It  is 
very  bad  and  bold  to  wink — especially  at  the 
boys." 

** Wouldn't  it  be  impolite  to  wink  at  a  horse, 
too,  Aggie?"  asked  the  puzzled  Dot.  ** Don't  you 
think  Scalawag  would  feel  he  was  insulted  if  I 
wunkathim!" 

**0h,  my  eye!"  gasped  Neale,  who  chanced  to 
be  at  hand.  *'Wink,  wank,  wunk.  Great  declen- 
sion, kid." 

*'Don't  call  me  *kid'!"  cried  Dot.  **I  am  sure 
that  is  not  polite,  Neale  0  'Neil. ' ' 

** Discovered,  Neale!"  chuckled  Agnes. 

*'You  are  right,  Dottie,"  said  the  boy,  with  a 
twinkle  in  his  eye.  **And  to  repay  you  for  my 
slip  in  manners,  I  will  aid  you  in  transposing  that 
sentence  so  that  your  teacher  will  scarcely  recog- 
nize it." 

And  he  did  so.  It  greatly  delighted  Dot,  for 
she  did  so  love  polysyllables.  The  other  members 
of  the  family  were  convulsed  when  they  read 
Neale 's  effort.  The  little  girl  carried  the  paper 
to  school  the  next  day  and  the  amazed  teacher  read 
the  following  paraphrase  of  "A  wink  is  as  good 
as  a  nod  to  a  blind  horse : " 

*'A  spasmodic  movement  of  the  eye  is  as  ad- 
equate as  a  slight  motion  of  the  cranium  to  an 


202     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

equine  quadruped  devoid  of  its  visionary  capac- 
ities." 

**  Goodness !"  Tess  declared  when  she  had  heard 
this  read  over  several  times.  '*I  don't  think  you 
would  better  read  that  to  Scalawag,  Dot.  It 
would  make  any  horse  mad." 

** Scalawag  isn't  a  horse,"  responded  her  sis- 
ter. **He's  a  pony.  And  Neale  says  he'll  never 
grow  up  to  be  a  horse.  He's  just  always  going 
to  be  our  cute,  cunning  little  Scalawag!" 

**But  suppose,"  sighed  Tess,  thoughtfully,  "that 
he  ever  acts  like  that  brown  pony  of  Mrs.  Heard's. 
Jonas,  you  know." 

**0h,  Jonas!  He  is  a  had  pony.  He  gets  stuck 
and  won't  go,"  Dot  said.  **Our  Scalawag 
wouldn't  do  that." 

**He  balks.  Dot — ^balks,"  reproved  Tess.  **He 
doesn't  get  stuck." 

**I  don't  care.  You  can't  push  him,  and  you 
can't  pull  him.    He  just  stands." 

**  Until  our  Neale  whispers  something  in  his 
ear,"  suggested  Tess. 

*'0h,  my!"  exclaimed  her  little  sister.  ** Sup- 
pose Scalawag  should  be  taken  that  way.  What 
would  we  do?  We  don't  know  what  Neale  whis- 
pered to  Mrs.  Heard's  pony." 

"That's  so,"  agreed  Tess.  "And  Neale  won't 
tell  me.  I've  asked  him,  and  asked  him!  He 
was  never  so  mean  about  anything  before. ' ' 

But  Neale,  with  a  reassuring  smile,  told  the 
little  girls  that  Scalawag  would  never  need  to 


Adventures  with  Scalawag  203 

be  whispered  to.  In  fact,  whispering  to  the  calico 
pony  would  merely  be  a  waste  of  time. 

*  *  There 's  nothing  the  matter  with  the  old  villain 
but  inborn  laziness/'  the  youth  chuckled.  *'You 
have  to  shout  to  Scalawag,  not  whisper  to  him. ' ' 

"Oh!"  murmured  Tess,  ** don't  call  him  a  vil- 
lain.   He  is  so  pretty." 

''And  cute,"  added  Dot. 

Uncle  Rufus  had  built  him  a  nice  box  staU  and 
Neale  took  time  early  each  morning  to  brush  and 
curry  the  pony  until  his  coat  shone  and  his  mane 
was  "crinkly." 

Before  the  week  was  out,  too,  the  basket  phaeton 
arrived  and  a  very  pretty  russet,  nickel-trimmed 
harness.  Even  the  circus  trimmings  had  never 
fitted  Scalawag  better  than  this  new  harness,  and 
he  tossed  his  head  and  pawed,  as  he  had  been 
trained  to  do,  arching  his  neck  and  looking  just  as 
though  he  were  anxious  to  work. 

"But  it's  all  in  his  looks,"  observed  Neale. 
"He  doesn't  mean  it." 

Which  seemed  to  be  the  truth  when  the  two 
little  girls  and  Sammy  Pinkney  got  into  the  pha- 
eton with  Neale  and  took  their  first  drive  about 
the  more  quiet  residential  streets  of  Milton. 

Scalawag  jogged  along  under  compulsion;  but 
to  tell  the  truth  he  acted  just  as  though,  if  he  had 
his  own  choice,  he  would  never  get  out  of  a  walk. 

"  Je-ru-sa-Zew/"  muttered  Sammy.  "It's  lucky 
we  don't  want  to  go  anywhere  in  a  hurry." 

It  was  great  fun  to  drive  around  the  Parade 


204     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Ground  and  see  the  other  children  stare.  When 
Sammy  was  allowed  to  hold  the  lines  he  sat  up 
like  a  real  coachman  and  was  actually  too  proud 
for  speech. 

The  responsibilities  of  his  position  immediately 
impressed  the  embryo  pirate.  Neale  taught  liim 
carefully  how  to  drive,  and  what  to  do  in  any 
emergency  that  might  arise.  Scalawag  was  an 
easy-bitted  pony  and  minded  the  rein  perfectly. 
The  only  danger  was  the  pony's  slowness  in  get- 
ting into  action. 

**I  reckon,"  declared  Neale,  with  some  disgust, 
"if  there  was  a  bomb  dropped  behind  him,  old 
Scalawag  wouldn't  get  out  of  the  way  quick 
enough,  even  if  there  was  a  five-minute  time  fuse 
on  the  bomb." 

**Well,  I  guess  he'll  never  run  away  then," 
said  Tess,  with  a  sigh  of  satisfaction.  Nothing 
could  be  said  about  Scalawag  that  one  or  the 
other  of  the  two  little  girls  could  not  find  an  excuse 
for,  or  even  that  the  criticism  was  actually  praise. 

**One  thing  you  want  to  remember,  children," 
Neale  said  one  day,  earnestly.  *'If  you're  ever 
out  with  Scalawag  without  me,  and  you  hear  a 
band  playing,  or  anything  that  sounds  like  a  band, 
you  turn  him  around  and  beat  it  the  other  way." 

"All  right,"  responded  the  little  girls. 

"What  for?"  asked  Sammy,  at  once  inter- 
ested. 

"Never  mind  what  for.    You  promise  to  do  as 


Adventures  with  Scalawag  205 

I  say,  or  it's  all  off.  You'll  get  no  chance  to 
drive  the  girls  alone." 

**Sure,  I'll  do  what  you  say,  Neale.  Only  I 
wondered  what  for.    Don 't  he  like  band  music  ? ' ' 

But  Neale,  considering  it  safer  to  say  nothing 
more,  merely  repeated  his  warning. 

The  children  drove  out  every  pleasant  afternoon 
when  school  was  over,  and  within  the  fortnight 
Sanamy  and  Tess  and  Dot  were  going  about  Milton 
with  the  pony  through  the  shady  and  quiet  streets, 
as  though  they  had  always  done  so.  Therefore 
the  older  Comer  House  girls  and  Neale  could  take 
their  friends  to  drive  in  the  motor-car,  without 
crowding  in  the  two  smaller  children. 

The  "newness"  of  the  automobile  having  worn 
off  for  Tess  and  Dot,  they  much  preferred  the 
basket  carriage  and  the  fat  pony.  They,  too, 
could  take  their  little  friends  driving,  and  this 
added  a  feeling  of  importance  to  their  pleasure  in 
the  pony. 

Had  Tess  had  her  way  every  sick  or  crippled 
child  in  town  would  have  ridden  behind  the  calico 
pony.  She  wanted  at  once  to  go  to  the  Women's 
and  Children's  Hospital,  where  their  very  dear 
friend,  Mrs.  Eland,  had  been  matron  and  for  the 
benefit  of  which  The  Carnation  Countess  had  been 
given  by  the  school  children  of  Milton,  and  take 
every  unfortunate  child,  one  after  another,  out  in 
the  basket  carriage. 

Their  schoolmates  especially  had  to  be  invited 


206    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

to  ride,  and  Sadie  Goronofsky  from  Meadow 
Street,  and  Alfredia  Blossom,  Uncle  Eufns* 
granddaughter,  were  not  neglected. 

**I  do  declare!"  said  Aunt  Sarah,  with  some 
exasperation,  as  she  saw  the  pony  and  cart,  with 
its  nondescript  crew,  start  off  one  afternoon  for 
a  jog  around  the  Parade  Ground.  *'I  do  declare! 
"What  riffraff  Tess  manages  to  pick  up.  For  she 
certainly  must  be  the  biggest  influence  in  gather- 
ing every  rag,  tag  and  bobtail  child  in  the  neigh- 
borhood.   I  never  did  see  such  a  youngster." 

*'lt  isn't  that  Tessie's  tastes  are  so  heterodox," 
Ruth  said,  smiling  quietly,  **but  her  love  for 
others  is  so  broad." 

** Humph!"  snapped  Aunt  Sarah.  "It's  a 
wonder  to  me  the  child  hasn't  brought  smallpox 
into  the  family  from  going  as  she  does  to  those 
awful  tenements  on  Meadow  Street." 

Aunt  Sarah  had  always  been  snobbish  in  her 
tendencies,  even  in  her  days  of  poverty ;  and  since 
she  enjoyed  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  the  old 
Comer  House  it  must  be  confessed  that  this  un- 
pleasant trait  in  the  old  woman's  character  had 
been  considerably  developed. 

**The  only  tenements  she  goes  to  on  Meadow 
Street  are  our  own,"  Ruth  replied  with  vigor. 
*'If  they  are  conducted  so  badly  that  diseases  be- 
come epidemic  there,  we  shall  be  to  blame — shall 
we  not?" 

**0h,  don't  talk  socialism  or  political  economy 
to  we/"   said  Aunt   Sarah.    ** Thank  goodness 


Adventures  with  Scalawag  207 

when  I  went  to  school  young  girls  did  not  fill  their 
heads  with  such  nonsense." 

**But  when  she  went  to  school,"  Ruth  said  after- 
ward to  Mrs.  MacCall,  "girls  I  am  sure  learned 
to  be  charitable  and  loving.  And  that  is  all  our 
Tess  is,  after  all." 

"Bless  her  sweet  heart!"  exclaimed  the  house- 
keeper. "She'll  never  be  hurt  by  that,  it's  true. 
But  she  does  bring  awfully  queer  looking  char- 
acters to  the  hoose,  Ruth.  There's  no  gainsaying 
that." 

As  the  children  met  these  other  children  at  the 
public  school,  Ruth  could  not  see  why  the  Goronof- 
skys  and  the  Maronis  and  the  Tahn jeans,  and  even 
Petunia  Blossom's  pickaninnies,  should  not,  if 
they  were  well  behaved,  come  occasionally  to  the 
old  Comer  House.  Nor  did  she  forbid  her  little 
sisters  taking  their  schoolmates  to  ride  in  the 
basket  phaeton,  for  the  calico  pony  could  easily 
draw  all  that  could  pile  into  the  vehicle. 

The  children  from  Meadow  Street,  and  from 
the  other  poorer  quarters  of  the  town,  always 
appeared  at  the  Kenway  domicile  dressed  in  their 
best,  and  scrubbed  till  their  faces  shone.  The 
parents  considered  it  an  honor  for  their  children 
to  be  invited  over  by  Tess  and  Dot. 

Sammy,  of  course,  would  have  found  it  much 
more  agreeable  to  drive  alone  with  some  of  the 
boys  than  with  a  lot  of  the  little  girls ;  but  he  was 
very  fair  about  it. 

"I  can't  take  you  'nless  Tess  says  so,"  he  said 


208    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

to  Iky  Goronofsky.  **I'm  only  let  to  drive  this 
pony;  I  don't  own  him.  Tess  and  Dot  have  the 
say  of  it." 

**  And  all  the  kids  is  sponging  on  them,"  grunted 
Iky,  who  always  had  an  eye  to  the  main  chance. 
"You  know  what  I  would  do  if  the  pony  was 
mine  ? '  * 

"What  would  you  do,  Iky!"  asked  Sammy. 

"I'd  nefer  let  a  kid  in  the  cart  without  I  was 
paid  a  nickel.  Sure!  A  nickel  a  ride!  And  I 
would  soon  make  the  cost  of  the  harness  and  the 
cart.    That's  what  my  father  would  do  too." 

Both  of  which  statements  were  probahly  true. 
But  the  little  Comer  House  girls  had  no  thought 
for  business.  They  were  bent  upon  having  a  good 
time  and  giving  their  friends  pleasure. 

The  pony  was  not  being  abused  in  any  sense. 
The  work  was  good  for  him.  But  possibly  Uncle 
Bill  Sorber  had  not  looked  forward  to  quite  such 
a  busy  time  for  Scalawag  when  he  told  him  in 
confidence  that  he  was  going  to  have  an  easy  time 
of  it  at  the  old  Comer  House.  If  Scalawag  could 
have  seen,  and  been  able  to  speak  with,  the  old 
ringmaster  just  then  the  pony  would  doubtless 
have  pointed  out  an  important  error  in  the  above 
statement.  >  / 

Scalawag  was  petted  and  fed  and  well  cared 
for.  But  as  the  fall  weather  was  so  pleasant,  each 
afternoon  he  was  put  between  the  shafts  and  was 
made  to  haul  noisy,  delighted  little  folk  about  the 
Parade  Ground. 


Adventures  with  Scalawag  209 

They  did  not  always  have  company  in  these 
drives,  however.  Sometimes  only  Tess  and  Dot 
were  in  the  basket  carriage,  though  usually  Sammy 
was  along.  Once  in  a  while  they  went  on  errands 
for  Mrs.  MacCall — to  the  store,  or  to  carry  things 
to  sick  people.  The  clatter  of  Scalawag's  little 
hoofs  became  well  known  upon  many  of  the  high- 
ways and  byways  of  Milton. 

Once  they  drove  to  the  Women's  and  Children's 
Hospital  with  a  basket  of  home-made  jellies  and 
jams  that  Mrs.  MacCall  had  just  put  up  and  which 
Ruth  wished  to  donate  to  the  convalescents  in  the 
institution.  For  after  the  departure  of  Mrs. 
Eland  and  her  sister.  Miss  Peperill,  for  the  West, 
the  Comer  House  Girls  had  not  lost  their  interest 
in  this  charitable  institution. 

At  a  comer  which  they  were  approaching  at 
Scalawag's  usual  jog  trot  were  several  carriages, 
a  hearse  with  plumes,  and  some  men  in  uniform. 
Sammy  had  the  reins  on  this  day. 

**0h,  Sammy,"  said  Tess,  **we'll  have  to  wait, 
I  guess.  It's  Mr.  Mudge's  funeral — Mr.  Peter 
Mudge,  you  know.  He  was  a  Grand  Army  man, 
and  all  the  other  Grand  Army  men  will  help  bury 
him.    There!    Hear  the  band?" 

Of  a  sudden,  and  with  a  moaning  of  wind  in- 
struments punctuated  by  the  roll  of  drums,  the 
band  struck  into  a  dirge.  The  procession  moved. 
And  all  of  a  sudden  Sammy  found  that  Scalawag 
was  marking  time  just  as  he  had  been  taught  to 
do  in  the  circus  ring  to  any  music. 


!210    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

**0h,  my!'*  gasped  Dot,  ''what  is  the  matter 
with  Scalawag?" 

''Turn  him  around,  Sammy — please  do,"  begged 
Tess.  **Just  see  him!  And  he's  following  the 
band." 

That  is  just  exactly  what  the  pony  intended  to 
do.  Sammy  could  not  turn  him.  He  would  mind 
neither  voice  nor  the  tugging  rein.  Arching  his 
neck,  tossing  his  mane,  and  stepping  high  in  time 
to  the  droning  music,  the  calico  pony  turned  the 
comer  and  followed  on  at  the  rear  of  the  pro- 
cession. 

**Why — ^why,'*  gasped  Dot,  *'I  don't  want  to  go 
to  a  funeral.    You  stop  him,  Sammy  Pinkney." 

** Can't  we  turn  him  up  a  side  street,  Sammy!" 
whispered  Tess. 

Everybody  was  looking  from  the  sidewalk  and 
from  the  houses  they  passed.  It  was  a  ridiculous 
situation.  The  solemn,  slow  notes  of  the  band 
seemed  just  suited  to  Scalawag's  leisurely  action. 
He  kept  perfect  time. 

**And  they're  go  in'  to  march  clear  out  to  the 
Calvary  Cemetery  I"  ejaculated  Sammy.  **It's 
four  miles  I" 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE   GBEEN   UMBRELLA  AGAIN 

**BoomI  Boom!  Boom-te-boom ! "  rolled  the 
solemn  drums,  and  Scalawag  in  a  sort  of  decorous 
dance,  keeping  perfect  time,  insisted  upon  follow- 
ing the  procession. 

**My  goodness  me,  Sammy  Pinkney!"  gasped 
Tess.  *  *  This  is  awful !  Everybody 's  laughing  at 
us!    Can't  you  turn  him  around !•" 

*'0h,  dear!  He  won't  turn  around,  or  do  any- 
thing else,  till  that  band  stops,'*  declared  Sammy. 
**This  is  what  Neale  meant.  He  thinks  he's  in  the 
circus  again  and  that  he  must  march  to  the 
music." 

"I  do  declare,"  murmured  Dot,  **this  pony  of 
ours  is  just  as  hard  to  make  stop  as  Mrs.  Heard's 
Jonas-pony  is  hard  to  make  go.  I  wish  it  was 
Jonas  we  had  here  now,  don't  you,  Tess?  He'd 
be  glad  to  stop." 

"And  Ruthie  told  us  to  come  right  back  'cause 
there's  going  to  be  ice-cream,  and  we  can  scrape 
the  paddles,"  moaned  Tess.  **Dear  me!  we'll  be 
a  nawful  long  time  going  out  to  this  fun'ral!" 

The  situation  was  becoming  tragic.  The 
thought  of  the  pleasures  of  scraping  the  ice-cream 

211 


212     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

freezer  paddles  was  enough  to  make  Sammy  turn 
to  desperate  invention  for  release. 

**Here,  Tess,'*  he  commanded.  ''You  hold 
these  reins  and  don't  you  let  'em  get  under 
Scalawag's  heels." 

**0h,  Sammy!  what  are  you  going  to  do?" 
queried  Tess  excitedly,  but  obeying  him  faith- 
fuUy. 

**I'm  going  to  sKde  out  behind  and  run  around 
and  stop  him." 

*  *  Oh,  Sammy !  You  can 't ! "  Dot  cried.  * '  He  '11 
just  walk  right  over  you.    See  him ! " 

Everybody  along  the  street  was  laughing  now. 
It  really  was  a  funny  sight  to  see  that  solemnly 
stepping  pony  right  behind  the  line  of  carriages. 
Sammy  would  not  be  deterred.  He  scrambled  out 
of  the  phaeton  and  ran  around  to  Scalawag's 
head. 

**Whoa!  Stop,  you  old  nuisance!"  ejaculated 
the  boy,  seizing  the  bridle  and  trying  to  halt  the 
pony. 

But  the  latter  knew  his  business.  He  had  been 
taught  to  keep  up  his  march  as  long  as  the  band 
played.  If  it  had  suddenly  changed  to  a  lively 
tune.  Scalawag  would  have  stood  right  up  on  his 
hind  legs  and  pawed  the  air! 

Therefore,  the  pony  had  no  idea  of  stopping 
while  the  band  played  on.  He  pushed  ahead  and 
Sammy  had  to  keep  stepping  backward  or  be  trod 
on.  It  was  a  funny  sight  indeed  to  see  the  small 
boy  try  to  hold  back  the  fat  pony  that  plowed 


The  Green  Umbrella  Again         213 

along  just  as  though  Sammy  had  no  more  weight 
than  a  fly. 

"Oh  Sammy!  he'U  step  on  you,"  Tess  cried. 

**0h,  Sammy!  he'll — he'll  bite  you,"  gasped 
Dot. 

''Oh,  Sammy!"  bawled  a  delighted  youngster 
from  the  sidewalk,  "he'll  swaller  you  whole!" 

"Look  out  for  that  pony,  boy!"  called  an  old 
man. 

"What's  the  kid  trying  to  do — wrastle  him?" 
laughed  another  man. 

Tess'  cheeks  were  very,  very  red.  Sammy 
wished  that  the  street  might  open  and  swallow 
him.  Dot  was  too  young  to  feel  the  smart  of 
ridicule  quite  so  keenly.  She  hugged  up  the 
Alice-doll  to  her  bosom  and  squealed  just  as  loud 
as  she  could. 

After  allj  Dot  was  the  one  who  saved  the  situa- 
tion. Her  shrill  cry  was  heard  by  an  old  gentle- 
man in  the  last  carriage.  He  was  a  very  grand 
looking  old  gentleman  indeed,  for  when  he  stood 
up  to  look  down  upon  the  obstinate  pony  and  the 
small  boy  struggling  with  him,  as  well  as  the 
two  little  girls  in  the  basket  phaeton,  they  saw 
that  he  had  medals  and  ribbons  on  his  breast  and 
a  broad  sash  across  the  front  of  his  coat. 

"Halt!"  commanded  General  MacKenzie,  and 
although  he  was  at  the  rear  of  the  procession  in- 
stead of  the  front,  the  word  was  passed  swiftly 
along  to  the  band,  and  everybody  stood  still,  while 
the  droning  of  the  instruments  ceased. 


214     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Instantly  Scalawag  stopped  keeping  time,  and 
shook  his  head  and  coughed.  Sammy  had  pulled 
at  his  bit  so  hard  that  it  interfered  with  the  pony's 
breathing. 

**What  under  the  sun's  the  matter  mth  that 
little  pony  I"  demanded  the  veteran  officer, 
putting  on  his  eyeglasses  the  better  to  see  Scala- 
wag and  the  whole  outfit. 

**If  you  pl-please,  sir,"  stammered  Sammy,  **he 
belongs  to  a  circus  and — and  he  just  can't  make 
his  feet  behave  when  he  hears  a  band." 

**And  do  you  children  belong  to  a  circus,  too?'* 
asked  the  old  gentleman  in  vast  surprise. 

**0h,  no,  sir,"  Tess  put  in.  **And  Scalawag 
doesn't  belong  to  one  now.  But  he  can't  forget. 
If  you'll  have  your  band  wait,  please,  until  we  can 
drive  up  this  other  street,  Scalawag  will  forget 
all  about  it." 

** Please  do,  sir,"  begged  Dot.  **For  we  don't 
really  want  to  go  to  the  seminary ;  we  go  to  school 
here  in  Milton,"  which  peculiar  association  of 
ideas  rather  stagged  General  MacKenzie. 

However,  amid  the  subdued  hilarity  of  the 
people  on  the  sidewalks,  Sammy  managed  at  last 
to  turn  Scalawag's  head  and  drive  him  up 
Buchan  Terrace,  and  out  of  hearing  of  the  dron- 
ing of  the  band  when  the  funeral  procession 
started  again.  But  it  certainly  was  a  memorable 
occasion  for  the  little  mistresses  of  Scalawag  and 
for  Sammy. 


The  Green  Umbrella  Again         215 

Thereafter,  when  they  were  driving  out,  they 
were  continually  on  the  watch  for  a  band,  or  any 
other  music ;  and  Dot  even  feared  that  the  old  man 
on  the  corner  who  attracted  attention  to  his  in- 
firmities, as  well  as  to  the  pencils  he  sold,  with  a 
small  organette,  would  play  some  tune  that  would 
remind  Scalawag  of  his  circus  days. 

Neale  O'Neil  would  sometimes  bring  the  pony 
around  to  the  front  of  the  house  and  have  Agnes 
start  a  band  record  on  the  music  machine  in  the 
parlor.  Immediately  Scalawag  would  try  to  go 
through  his  old  tricks  to  the  delight  of  the 
neighborhood  children. 

**Well!  it  doesn't  much  matter,  I  suppose," 
Euth  sighed.  ''Every  day  is  circus  day  at  the 
old  Comer  House.  We  have  gained  a  reputation 
for  doing  queer  things,  and  living  not  at  all  like 
other  folks.  I  wonder  that  nice  people  here  in 
Milton  allow  their  children  to  play  with  our  little 
girls." 

*'HechI"  exclaimed  Mrs.  MacCall.  **I  should 
like  to  know  why  not  ?  They  're  the  best  behaved 
bairns  anywhere,  if  their  heids  are  fu'  o'  mag- 
gots," using  the  word,  however,  in  the  meaning  of 
** crotchets"  or  "queer  ideas." 

Ruth  was  no  ''nagger."  She  was  strict  about 
some  things  with  the  smaller  ones ;  but  she  never 
interfered  with  their  plays  or  amusements  as 
long  as  they  were  safe  and  did  not  annoy  any- 
body.   And  with  their  multitude  of  pets  and  toys, 


216    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

to  say  nothing  of  dolls  galore,  Tess  and  Dot  Ken- 
way  were  as  happy  little  girls  as  could  be  found 
in  a  day's  march. 

Besides,  there  was  always  Sammy  Pinkney  to 
give  them  a  jolt  of  surprise;  although  Sammy's 
mother  said  he  was  behaving  this  term  almost 
like  an  angel  and  she  feared  a  relapse  of  the  fever 
he  had  suffered  the  spring  before. 

Neale  O'Neil  felt  of  the  boy's  shoulder  blades 
solemnly  and  pronounced  no  sign  yet  of  sprout- 
ing wings. 

*'You  are  in  no  danger  of  dying  young  because 
of  your  goodness  striking  in,  Sammy,"  he  said. 
** Don't  lose  heart." 

''Aw — you!"  grunted  Sammy. 

Ruth,  seeing  the  practicability  of  it,  was  taking 
lessons  in  driving  the  automobile  and  was  to  get 
a  license  shortly.  Agnes  felt  quite  put  out  that 
she  was  not  allowed  to  do  likewise ;  but  to  tell  the 
truth  the  older  folk  feared  to  let  the  fly-away 
sister  handle  the  car  without  Neale,  or  somebody 
more  experienced,  in  the  seat  with  ber. 

**I  don't  care,  Neale  has  killed  a  hen,  scared  in- 
numerable dogs  sleeping  in  the  road-dust,  and 
come  near  running  down  Mrs.  Privett.  You  know 
he  has!    I  believe  I  wouldn't  do  much  worse." 

Buth  pointed  out  that  she  need  not  do  much 
worse  in  Mrs.  Privett 's  case  to  have  a  very  bad 
accident  indeed. 

*'The  difference  between  almost  running  a  per- 
son   down,    and    actually   hitting   him,    can    be 


The  Green  Umbrella  Again  217 

measured  only  before  a  magistrate,"  the  older 
sister  said. 

Euth  took  her  lessons  from  the  man  at  the 
garage  after  luncheon,  for  she  did  not  attend 
school  in  the  afternoon  this  term,  taking  the  few 
studies  she  desired  in  the  morning. 

One  afternoon  she  drove  over  to  Mr.  How- 
bridge's  house  for  tea,  and  as  the  car  jounced  over 
the  railroad  crossing  at  Pleasant  Street  she  sud- 
denly spied  a  familiar  looking  object  bobbing  along 
the  sidewalk.  It  was  a  huge  green  umbrella,  and 
beneath  it  was  the  rather  shambling  figure  of  the 
old  gentleman  whom  she  had  saved  from  possible 
accident  at  this  very  crossing  some  weeks  before. 

He  was  dressed  quite  as  he  had  been  when  Ruth 
first  saw  him.  If  he  saw  her,  the  car  passed  so 
rapidly  that  she  did  not  see  him  bow.  At  Mr. 
Howbridge's  house  she  lingered  for  some  time, 
for  the  lawyer  always  enjoyed  these  little  visits  of 
his  oldest  ward. 

Ruth  did  not  return  to  the  old  Comer  House 
until  almost  time  for  the  children  to  come  home 
from  school.  Mrs.  MacCaU  was  in  an  excited 
state  when  the  oldest  Comer  House  girl  ap- 
peared. 

**Hech,  ma  lassie!"  cried  the  housekeeper. 
**Ye  hae  fair  missed  the  crankiest  old  body  IVe 
set  my  eyes  on  in  mony  a  day!" 

"Whom  do  you  mean,  Mrs.  Mac?"  asked  Ruth, 
in  surprise. 

"Let  me  tell  't  ye!    I  should  be  fu'  used  to 


218     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

quare  bodies  coomin'  here,  for  'tis  you  bairns 
bring  'em.  But  this  time  'twas  ane  o'  your 
friends,  Ruthie — " 

**But  who  was  he!" 

**Fegs!  He'd  never  tell  't  me,"  Mrs.  MacCall 
declared,  shaking  her  head.  **He  juist  kep'  say- 
in'  he  had  a  reason  for  wishin'  tae  see  ye.  Ye 
could  nae  tell  from  lookin'  into  his  winter-apple 
face,  whether  'twas  guid  news  or  bad  he 
brought." 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Mac!"  cried  Ruth  suddenly,  **did 
he  carry  a  green  umbrella!" 

**He  did  juist  that,"  declared  the  woman, 
vigorously  nodding.  ''And  a  most  disreputable 
umbrella  it  looked  tae  be.  'Gin  ye  judged  the 
mon  by  his  umbrella,  ye'd  think  he  was  come  tae 
buy  rags." 

** Isn't  he  a  character!"  laughed  Ruth. 

**He's  as  inquisitive  as  a  chippin '-sparrow, " 
said  the  housekeeper,  with  some  disgust.  "He 
wanted  tae  know  ev'ry thing  that  had  happened 
tae  ye  since  ye  was  weaned. " 

**0h,  dear!  I'm  rather  glad  I  wasn't  here  then." 

"Aw,  but  fash  not  yerself  he'll  nae  be  back. 
For  he  wull.'* 

"No!" 

"Yes,  I  tell  't  ye.  I  seen  it  in  the  gleam  of  his 
hard  eye  when  he  went.  I  gave  him  nae  satis- 
faction as  tae  when  ye  might  be  home,  not  knowin* 
who  he  was  nor  what  he  wanted  o'  ye." 

"Oh,  Mrs.  MacCall,  don't  you  remember?"  and 


The  Green  Umbrella  Again  219 

Ruth  recounted  the  incident  at  the  railroad  cross- 
ing nearly  a  month  before. 

**Huh,  that's  why  he  was  so  cur'ous,  then.  You 
saved  his  life,"  went  on  the  housekeeper  dropping 
the  broad  Scotch  burr,  now  that  her  excitement 
was  cooling. 

"I  don't  know  that  I  did.  But  perhaps  he 
came  to  thank  me  for  what  I  tried  to  do. ' ' 

"It  seems  as  though  he  must  want  to  know 
every  little  thing  about  you,"  the  housekeeper  de- 
clared. "And  how  he  could  corner  you  with  his 
questions!  He  should  ha*  made  a  lawyer-body. 
He  made  me  tell  him  more  than  I  should  about  the 
family's  private  affairs,  I  have  no  doot." 

"Oh,  Mrs  Mac!  what  do  you  suppose  he 
wants?" 

"To  see  you,  belike.    And  he'll  be  back  again." 

"Goodness!  I'm  not  sure  I  want  to  talk  with 
him.  He  looked  very  odd  to  me  that  day  I  met 
him.    And  so  cross!" 

"No  doot  of  it.  He's  an  ugly  looking  man. 
And  from  his  speech  it's  easy  to  see  he's  no  friend 
of  womenkind." 

"He  must  be  like  that  Neighbor  Ceciie  was  tell- 
ing us  about, ' '  sighed  Euth  and  with  that  dropped 
the  subject  of  the  strange  old  man  with  the  green 
umbrella. 

Ruth  had  heard  from  Ceciie  Shepard  since  she 
had  gone  back  to  the  preparatory  school — in 
fact,  had  received  two  letters.  They  were  not 
such  bright  epistles  as  Ceciie  usually  wrote;  but 


220     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

they  were  full  of  her  brother.  Not  that  Cecile 
mentioned  Luke's  differences  with  Neighbor,  or 
the  reason  thereof ;  but  she  seemed  unable  to  keep 
from  writing  about  Luke. 

Euth  was  secretly  as  anxious  to  hear  about  the 
young  man  as  his  sister  was  to  write  about  him, 

Ruth  was  heart-hungry.  She  felt  that  Luke 
might  have  taken  her  into  his  confidence  to  a 
greater  degree ;  and  yet  she  suspected  why  he  had 
not  done  so. 

Mr.  Howbridge's  talk  of  dowries  for  the  sisters 
was  always  in  Ruth's  mind.  Of  course,  she  knew 
that  the  Stower  estate  was  rapidly  increasing  in 
value.  In  a  few  years  property  that  Peter 
Stower  had  purchased  for  a  song  would  be  worth 
a  fortune.  The  Kenways  were  likely  to  be  very 
rich. 

What  if  Luke  Shepard  had  no  money  when  he 
graduated  from  college?  That  seemed  a  very 
small  thing  to  Ruth.  She  would  have  plenty  when 
she  came  of  age,  and  why  could  not  her  money 
set  Luke  up  in  some  line  of  business  that  he  was 
fitted  for? 

Yet,  there  was  a  whisper  in  her  heart  that  told 
Ruth  that  was  not  the  right  way  to  begin  life. 
If  Luke  was  ambitious  he  must  find  a  better  way. 
Nor  could  she  help  him,  it  seemed,  in  the  least, 
for  the  young  man  had  given  her  no  right  to  do 
so. 

*'0h,  dear  me,"  Ruth  finally  decided,  *'it  is 
awfully  hard  being  a  girl — sometimes!" 


The  Green  Umbrella  Again         221 

No  such  questions  and  doubts  troubled  Agnes 
and  Neale.  Their  course  through  life  seemed  a 
smooth  road  before  them.  They  told  each  other 
their  aspirations,  and  everything  they  planned 
to  do  in  the  future — that  glorious  future  after 
school  should  end — ^had  a  part  for  each  in  it. 

Neale  O'Neil  did  not  hope  to  do  anything  in 
life  which  would  shut  Agnes  out;  and  the  girl's 
thought  marched  side-by-side  with  his  intentions. 
Everything  hereafter  was  to  be  in  partnership. 

**For  you  know,  Neale,  no  matter  what  Ruth 
says,  I  really  couldn't  get  along  without  you." 

**Crickey!"  exclaimed  the  boy,  **this  old  world 
certainly  would  be  what  Uno'  Rufus  calls  'de 
valley  ob  tribulation'  if  you  weren't  right  here 
with  me." 

She  smiled  upon  him  gloriously,  and  used  that 
emphatic  ejaculation  that  always  horrified  Ruth: 

"You  bet  I" 

"You're  a  good  pal,  Aggie,"  said  the  boy,  with 
feeling. 

"And  since  that  morning  I  first  saw  you  and 
we  both  tumbled  out  of  the  peach  tree,"  Agnes 
declared  solemnly — "do  you  remember,  Neale f" 

"I  should  say  I  did!" 

"Well,  I  thought  you  were  awfully  nice  then. 
Now,  I  know  you  are." 

So,  perhaps  Agnes  and  Neale  were  growing  up, 
too. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE   MAD   DOG   SCAKE 

The  primary  and  grammar  grades,  and  the 
high  school,  were  in  beautiful  brick  buildings  side 
by  side  at  this  end  of  Milton.  The  little  folk  had 
a  large  play  yard,  as  well  as  basement  recreation 
rooms  for  stormy  weather.  The  Parade  Ground 
was  not  far  away,  and  the  municipality  of  Milton 
did  not  ornament  the  grass  plots  there  with 
**Keep  Off  the  Grass'*  signs. 

No  automobiles  were  allowed  through  the  street 
where  the  schools  were  at  the  hours  when  the 
children  were  going  to  or  coming  from  school. 
Besides,  two  big  policemen — the  very  tallest  men 
on  the  force — ^were  stationed  at  the  crossings  on 
either  side  to  guide  the  school  children  through 
the  danger  zone. 

However,  Tess  usually  waited  for  Dot  after 
school  so  that  the  smallest  Comer  House  girl 
should  not  have  to  walk  home  alone.  It  hap- 
pened one  afternoon  during  these  first  few  weeks 
of  school,  while  Tess  was  waiting  with  some  of 
her  classmates  for  the  smaller  girls,  that  Sammy 
Pinkney,  Iky  Goronofsky,  and  half  a  dozen  other 
boys  of  Tess'  age,  came  whooping  around  from 
the  boys*  entrance  to  the  school,  chasing  a  small, 


The  Mad  Dog  Scare  223 

disreputable  dog  that  ran  zigzag  along  the  street, 
acting  very  strangely. 

**0h,  Tess!"  cried  Alfredia  Blossom,  the 
colored  girl,  **see  those  boys  chasin*  that  poor 
dog.    I  declarM  ain't  they  jest  the  wust — " 

**0h,  dear  me,  Alfredia!"  urged  Tess,  gravely, 
*'do  remember  what  Miss  Shipman  tells  you. 
*  Worst,'  not  *wust.'  " 

**I'm  gwine  to  save  dat  dog!'*  gasped  Alfredia, 
too  disturbed  by  the  circumstances  to  mind  Tess' 
instructions. 

She  darted  out  ahead  of  the  boys.  Sammy 
Pinkney  yelled  at  the  top  of  his  voice : 

**Let  that  dog  alone,  'Fredia  Blossom!  You 
want  to  catch  hydrophobia?" 

**Wha'  dat?"  demanded  Alfredia,  stopping 
short  and  her  eyes  rolling. 

**That  dog's  mad!  If  he  bites  you  you*ll  go 
mad,  too,"  declared  Sammy,  coming  pufifing  to  the 
spot  where  the  little  girls  were  assembled. 

At  this  startling  statement  some  of  the  girls 
screamed  and  ran  back  into  the  yard.  There 
they  met  the  smaller  girls  coming  forth,  and  for 
a  time  there  was  a  hullabaloo  that  nearly  deafened 
everybody  on  the  block. 

Said  Sammy  with  disgust: 

**Hoh!  if  hollerin'  did  any  good,  those  girls 
would  kill  all  the  mad  dogs  in  the  State." 

As  it  was,  the  police  officer  at  the  comer  used 
his  club  to  kill  the  unfortunate  little  animal  that 
had  caused  all  the  excitement.    The  S.  P.  C.  A. 


224    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

wagon  came  and  got  the  poor  dead  dog,  and  the 
doctors  at  the  laboratory  examined  his  brain  and 
sent  word  to  the  newspapers  that  the  animal  had 
actually  been  afflicted  with  rabies. 

It  was  a  strange  dog;  nobody  knew  where  it 
had  come  from.  It  had  bitten  several  other  dogs 
in  his  course  as  far  as  the  school.  Some  of  these 
dogs  were  sent  to  the  pound  to  be  watched;  but 
some  foolish  owners  would  not  hear  of  sacrificing 
their  pets  for  the  general  good.  So,  within  a 
fortnight  there  was  a  veritable  epidemic  of  rabies 
among  the  dogs  of  Milton. 

One  man  lost  a  valuable  horse  that  was  im- 
pregnated with  the  poison  from  being  bitten  by 
the  stable  dog  that  had  been  his  best  friend. 

The  order  went  forth  that  all  dogs  should  be 
muzzled  and  none  should  be  allowed  on  the  street 
save  on  a  leash.  Sammy  was  very  careful  to  keep 
Buster  chained.  Buster  had  not  many  friends  in 
the  neighborhood  at  best.  So  Sammy  took  no 
chances  with  his  bulldog. 

As  for  Tom  Jonah,  the  old  dog  was  such  a  uni- 
versal pet,  and  was  so  kindly  of  disposition  that 
nobody  thought  of  including  him  in  the  general 
fear  of  the  canine  dwellers  in  Milton. 

Tom  Jonah  was  old,  and  had  few  teeth  left. 
He  was  troubled  now  and  then  with  rheumatism, 
too;  and  he  seldom  left  the  Comer  House  yard 
save  to  accompany  the  girls  on  some  expedition. 
He  went  with  them  often  in  the  automobile, 
especially  when  they  went  picnicking  on  Satur- 


The  Mad  Dog  Scare  225 

days.  He  and  Scalawag  were  very  good  friends, 
and  sometimes  he  accompanied  the  little  folks  in 
their  afternoon  rides  around  the  Parade  Ground. 

But  as  soon  as  the  mad-dog  scare  started  the 
girls  were  all  very  careful  about  letting  Tom 
Jonah  go  off  the  premises.  He  was  too  old  and 
dignified  a  dog  to  run  out  to  bark  at  passing 
teams,  or  to  follow  strange  dogs  to  make  their 
acquaintance.  Therefore  the  Kenways  and  Neale 
O'Neil  thought  it  was  not  necessary  for  poor  old 
Tom  Jonah  to  wear  an  ugly  and  irritating  muzzle 
all  the  time.    The  old  fellow  hated  the  thing  so  I 

**I  don't  blame  poor  Tom  Jonah  for  not  liking 
to  wear  that  old  thing,'*  Dot  said  thoughtfully. 
*'It's  worse  than  the  bit  in  Scalawag's  mouth. 
And  see  how  Billy  Bumps  hates  to  be  harnessed 
up.  Supposin',"  added  the  smallest  Comer 
House  girl,  "we  had  to  put  on  a  harness  and  have 
our  mouths  tied  up  when  we  started  for  school. 
Oh!  wouldn't  it  be  dreadful?" 

"I  guess  it  would,  Dot  Kenway,"  Tess  agreed 
vigorously.  '*I  guess  it  isn't  so  much  fun  being 
a  dog  or  a  horse  or  even  a  goat." 

**Huh!"  growled  Sammy  who  had  become 
pretty  well  tired  of  school  by  this  time;  ** anyway, 
they  don't  have  to  study,"  and  he  looked  as 
though  he  would  willingly  change  places  with  al- 
most any  of  the  pets  about  the  old  Comer  House. 

Neale  always  walked  to  school  with  the  little 
folks  now,  for  Ruth  was  fearful  that  there  might 
be  other  dogs  loose  afflicted  with  the  terrible  dis- 


226    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

ease.  A  panic  among  little  children  is  so  easily 
started.  She  could  trust  Neale  to  have  a  watch- 
ful care  over  Dot  and  Tess. 

Nothing  so  bad  as  that  happened;  but  there 
did  come  a  day  when  tragedy  because  of  the  mad- 
dog  scare  stalked  near  to  the  Corner  House. 

The  dog-catchers  were  going  about  town  netting 
all  the  stray  dogs  they  could  find.  Foolish  people 
who  would  not  obey  the  law  deserved  to  lose  their 
pets.  And  if  they  wished  to,  if  the  dogs  were 
pronounced  perfectly  healthy  at  the  pound,  the 
owners  could  appear  and  claim  their  pets  by  pay- 
ing two  dollars. 

This  last  fact,  however,  was  something  the  little 
Comer  House  girls  and  Sammy  Pinkney  knew 
nothing  about.  They  had  a  horror  of  *Hhe  dog 
catchers."  The  collecting  agents  of  the  S.  P. 
C.  A.  are  bugbears  in  most  communities.  When 
the  children  saw  the  green  van,  with  its  screened 
door  in.  the  back,  and  heard  the  yapping  of  the 
excited  dogs  within.  Dot  and  Tess  stuffed  their 
fingers  in  their  ears  and  ran. 

The  children  did  not  understand  that  stray  dogs 
were  likely  to  be  bitten  as  those  other  dogs  had 
been  by  one  aflQicted  with  the  rabies ;  and  that  it 
was  much  more  humane  to  catch  the  unmuzzled 
animals,  that  nobody  cared  for,  and  dispose  of 
them  painlessly,  than  to  have  them  become  dis- 
eased and  a  menace  to  the  neighborhood. 

To  make  the  children  understand  that  it  was 


The  Mad  Dog  Scare  227. 

dangerous  to  play  with  strange  dogs  was  a  diffi- 
cult matter.  The  little  Corner  House  girls  were 
prone  to  be  friendly  with  passing  animals. 

All  hungry  and  sore-eyed  kittens  appealed  to 
Tess  and  Dot ;  the  wag  of  a  dog's  tail  was  sufficient 
to  interest  them  in  its  owner;  each  horse  at  the 
curb  held  a  particular  interest,  too.  They  were 
trusting  of  nature,  these  little  girls,  and  they 
trusted  everybody  and  everything. 

In  coming  home  from  school  one  afternoon 
Neale  was  in  a  hurry  to  do  an  errand,  and  he  left 
the  little  folk  at  the  corner,  hurrying  around  to 
Con  Murphy's  on  the  back  street,  where  he  lived. 
Ruth  was  away  from  home  and  Agnes  had  not  yet 
arrived  at  the  Corner  House. 

The  Willow  Street  block,  however,  seemed  per- 
fectly safe.  Tess  and  Dot  strolled  along  the 
block,  their  feet  rustling  the  carpet  of  leaves  that 
had  now  fallen  from  the  trees.  Sammy  Pinkney 
was  playing  solitaire  leapfrog  over  all  posts  and 
hydrants. 

Just  as  they  reached  the  comer  of  the  Corner 
House  yard  Tom  Jonah  heard  and  saw  them.  He 
rose  up,  barking  the  glad  tidings  that  his  little 
friends  were  returning  from  school,  and  as  he  felt 
pretty  well  this  day,  he  leaped  the  fence  into  the 
street  and  came  cavorting  toward  them,  laughing 
just  as  broadly  as  a  dog  could  laugh. 

Even  as  Tess  and  Dot  greeted  him,  Sammy 
Pinkney  emitted  a  shriek  of  dismay.    A  big  auto- 


228    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

van  had  turned  the  comer  and  rolled  smoothly 
along  the  block.  One  man  on  the  front  seat  who 
was  driving  the  truck  said  to  his  mate: 

** There's  another  of  'em,  Bill.    Net  him." 

The  fellow  he  spoke  to  leaped  out  as  the  green 
van  came  to  a  halt.  He  carried  a  net  like  a  fish 
seine  over  his  arm.  Before  the  little  girls  who 
were  fondling  Tom  Jonah  realized  that  danger 
threatened — ^before  the  frightened  Sammy  could 
do  more  than  shout  his  useless  warning — the  man 
threw  the  net,  and  old  Tom  Jonah  was  entangled 
in  its  meshes. 

The  little  girls  screamed.  Sammy  roared  a 
protest.  The  men  paid  no  attention  to  the  up- 
roar. 

**Got  a  big  fish  this  time,  Harry,"  said  Bill, 
dragging  the  struggling,  growling  Tom  Jonah  to 
the  back  of  the  van.    **Give  us  a  hand." 

For  the  big  dog,  his  temper  roused,  would  have 
done  his  captor  some  injury  had  he  been  able. 
The  driver  of  the  dog  catchers'  van  drove  the 
other  dogs  back  from  the  door  with  a  long  pole, 
and  then  between  them  he  and  his  mate  heaved 
Tom  Jonah  into  the  vehicle. 

Sammy  Pinkney  scurried  around  for  some  mis- 
sile to  throw  at  the  dog  catchers.  The  little  girls' 
shrieks  brought  neighboring  children  to  yards  and 
doors  and  windows.  But  there  chanced  not  to  be 
an  adult  on  the  block  to  whom  the  dog  catchers 
might  have  listened. 

^*0h.  Mister!    Don't!    Don't!"  begged  Tess, 


The  Mad  Dog  Scare  229 

sobbing,  and  trying  to  bold  by  the  coat  the  man 
who  had  netted  Tom  Jonah.  "He's  a  good  dog 
— a  real  good  dog.    Don't  take  him  away.'* 

*'If  you  hurt  Tom  Jonah  my  sister  Ruthie  will 
do  something  awful  to  you!"  declared  Dot,  too 
angry  to  cry. 

**Wish  my  father  was  home,"  said  Sammy, 
threateningly.    **He'd  fix  you  dog-catchers!" 

**  Aw- go  wan!"  exclaimed  the  man,  pushing  Tess 
so  hard  that  she  almost  fell,  and  breaking  her 
hold  upon  his  coat. 

But  Tess  forgot  herself  in  her  anxiety  for  Tom 
Jonah.  She  bravely  followed  him  to  the  very  step 
of  the  van. 

**Give  him  back!  Give  him  back!"  she  cried. 
**You  must  not  hurt  Tom  Jonah.  He  never  did 
you  any  harm.  He  never  did  anybody  any  harm. 
Give  him  back  to  us!    Please!" 

Her  wail  made  no  impression  on  the  man. 

** Drive  on,  Harry,"  he  said.  "These  kids  ^ve 
me  a  pain." 

The  green  van  moved  on.  Tom  Jonah's  gray 
muzzle  appeared  at  the  screened  door  at  the  back. 
He  howled  mournfully  as  the  van  headed  toward 
Main  Street. 

"Oh,  what  shall  we  do?  What  shall  we  do?" 
cried  Tess,  wringing  her  hands. 

"Let's  run  tell  Ruthie,"  gasped  Dot. 

"I  wish  Neale  O'Neil  was  here,"  growled 
Sammy. 

But  Tess  was  the  bravest  of  the  three.    She 


230    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

liad  no  intention  of  losing  sight  of  poor  Tom 
Jonah,  whose  mournful  cries  seemed  to  show  that 
he  knew  the  fate  in  store  for  him. 

**  Where  are  you  going,  Tess?"  shouted  Sammy, 
as  the  Comer  House  girl  kept  on  past  the  gate 
of  her  own  dooryard,  after  the  green  van. 

*'They  sha'n't  have  Tom  Jonah!"  declared  the 
sobbing  Tess.    * '  I — I  won 't  let  them. ' ' 

*'And — and  Iky  Goronofsky  says  that  they 
make  frankfurters  out  of  those  poor  dogs," 
moaned  Dot,  repeating  a  legend  prevalent  among 
the  rougher  school  children  at  that  time. 

*' Pshaw!  he  was  stringin'  you  kids,"  said 
Sammy,  with  more  wisdom,  falling  in  with  Dot 
behind  the  determined  Tess.  *' What '11  we  do? 
Tess  is  going  right  after  that  old  van." 

**We  mustn't  leave  her,"  Dot  said.  '*0h!  I 
wish  Ruthie  had  seen  those  horrid  men  take  Tom 
Jonah. ' ' 

As  it  was  there  seemed  nothing  to  do  but  to 
follow  the  valiant  Tess  on  her  quest  toward  the 
dog  pound.  As  for  Tess  herself  she  had  no  in- 
tention of  losing  sight  of  Tom  Jonah.  She  made 
up  her  mind  that  no  matter  how  far  the  van  went 
the  poor  old  dog  who  had  been  their  friend  for 
so  long  should  not  be  deserted. 

At  the  seashore,  soon  after  Tom  Jonah  had 
first  come  to  live  with  the  Comer  House  girls,  the 
dog  had  been  instrumental  in  saving  the  lives 
of  both  Tess  and  Dot.  He  had  often  guarded 
them  when  they  played  and  when  they  worked. 


The  Mad  Dog  Scare  231 

They  depended  upon  him  at  night  to  keep  away 
prowlers  from  the  Corner  House  henroost.  No 
ill-disposed  persons  ever  troubled  the  premises  at 
the  Comer  of  Willow  and  Main  Streets  after  one 
glimpse  of  Tom  Jonah. 

**I  don't  care!"  sobbed  Tess,  her  plump  cheeks 
streaked  with  tears,  when  her  little  sister  and 
Sammy  caught  up  with  her  a  block  away  from 
home.  "I  don't  care.  They  sha'n't  put  poor 
Tom  Jonah  in  the  gas  chamber.  /  know  what 
they  do  to  poor  doggies.  They  sha'n't  treat  him 
so!" 

**But  what '11  you  do,  Tess?"  demanded  Sammy, 
amazed  by  the  determination  and  courage  of  his 
little  friend. 

**I  don't  know  just  what  I'll  do  when  I  get 
there  but  I'll  do  something — you  see  if  I  don't, 
Sammy  Pinkney!"  threatened  this  usually  mild 
and  retiring  Tess  Kenway. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

IT   ENGAGES   AUNT   SABAH'S   ATTENTION 

Ruth,  as  has  been  said,  was  away  from  the 
house  when  this  dreadful  thing  happened  to  Tom 
Jonah.  Uncle  Rufus  was  too  lame  to  have  fol- 
lowed the  dog  catchers'  van  in  any  case,  had  he 
seen  the  capture  of  their  pet. 

But  Mrs.  MacCall  and  Aunt  Sarah  were  sitting 
together  sewing  in  the  latter 's  big  front  room 
over  the  dining-room  of  the  Corner  House.  Look- 
ing out  of  the  window  by  which  she  sat,  and  biting 
off  a  thread  reflectively,  the  housekeeper  said : 

**It's  on  my  mind,  Miss  Maltby,  that  our  Ruth 
is  not  so  chirpy  as  she  used  to  be." 

** She's  growing  up,"  said  Aunt  Sarah.  *'I'll 
be  glad  when  they're  all  grown  up."  And  then 
she  added  something  that  would  have  quite 
shocked  all  four  of  the  Corner  House  girls.  ''I'll 
be  glad  when  they  are  all  grown  up,  and  married, 
and  settled  down." 

**My  certie!  but  you  are  in  haste,  woman," 
gasped  the  housekeeper.  ''And  it  sounds  right- 
down  wicked.    Wishing  the  bairns'  lives  away." 

"Do  you  realize  what  it's  going  to  mean — these 
next  four  or  five  years?"  snapped  Aunt  Sarah. 

"In  what  way,  Miss  Maltby?"  asked  Mrs.  Mac- 
CaU. 

232 


It  Engages  Aunt  Sarah's  Attention    233 

"For  us,"  said  Aunt  Sarah,  nodding  em- 
phatically. "We're  going  to  have  the  house 
cluttered  up  with  boys  and  young  men  who  will 
want  to  marry  my  nieces." 

'  *  Lawk ! ' '  gasped  the  housekeeper.  *  *  Will  they 
be  standin'  in  line,  think  you?  Not  but  the  bonny 
lassies  deserve  the  best  there  is — " 

"Which  isn't  saying  much  when  it  comes  to  a 
choice  of  men/'  Aunt  Sarah  sniffed. 

"Well,"  returned  Mrs.  MacCall,  slowly,  "of 
course  there'll  be  none  worthy  of  the  lassies. 
None  who  deserves  our  Buthie.  Yet — ^I'm 
thinkin' — that  that  young  laddie  that  was  here 
now — ^you  know,  Miss  Maltby.    Luke  Shepard." 

"A  likeable  boy,"  admitted  Aunt  Sarah,  and 
that  was  high  praise  from  the  critical  spinster. 

"Aye,"  Mrs.  MacCall  hastened  to  say,  "a  very 
fine  young  man  indeed.  And  I  am  moved  to  say 
Euthie  liked  him." 

"Eh?"  exclaimed  Aunt  Sarah. 

"You  maybe  didn't  see  it.  It  was  plain  to  me. 
They  two  were  very  fond  of  each  other.  Yes,  in- 
deed!" 

"My  niece  fond  of  a  boy?"  gasped  the  spinster, 
bridling. 

"Why I  were  ye  not  just  now  speakin*  of  such 
a  possibeelity?"  demanded  the  housekeeper,  and 
in  her  surprise,  dropping  for  the  moment  into 
broad  Scotch.  "And  they  are  baith  of  them  old 
enough  tae  be  thinkin'  of  matin'.    Yes!" 

Aunt  Sarah  still  stared  in  amazement.    "Can 


234    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

it  be  that  that  seems  to  have  changed  Euth  so!" 
she  asked  at  last. 

"You've  noticed  it?"  cried  the  Scotchwoman. 

*'Yes.  As  you  have  suggested,  she  seems 
do^vn-hearted.    But  why — " 

"There's  something  that  went  wrong,  *  Love's 
young  dream,'  as  they  say,  is  having  a  partial 
eclipse,  so  it  is !  I  see  no  letters  comin'  from  that 
college  where  the  laddie  has  gone. ' ' 

"But  she  hears  from  Cecile  Shepard,"  said 
Aunt  Sarah.  "She  reads  me  extracts  from  Ce- 
cile's  letters.  A  very  lively  and  pleasant  girl  is 
Cecile." 

"So  she  is,"  admitted  the  housekeeper.  "But 
I'm  a  sight  more  interested  in  the  laddie.  Why 
doesn't  he  write!" 

"Why — er — would  that  be  quite  the  thing,  Mrs. 
MacCall?"  asked  Aunt  Sarah,  momentarily  losing 
much  of  her  grimness  and  seemingly  somewhat 
fluttered  by  this  discussion  of  Ruth 's  affair. 

"  'Twould  be  almost  necessary,  Miss  Maltby, 
I  can  tell  you,  if  he  was  a  laddie  of  mine,"  de- 
clared the  Scotchwoman  vigorously.  "I'd  no 
have  a  sweetheart  that  was  either  tongue-tied  or 
unable  to  write." 

"Oh,  but  you  take  too  much  for  granted,"  cried 
Aunt  Sarah. 

"My  observation  tells  me  the  two  of  them  are 
fair  lost  on  each  other.  I  watched  'em  while 
young  Shepard  was  here.  It's  true  they  are 
young;  but  they'll  never  be  younger,  and  it's  the 


It  Engages  Aunt  Sarah's  Attention    235 

young  lovin*  and  matin'  was  made  for — not  for 
old  bodies." 

**You — ^you  quite  surprise  me,"  said  Aunt 
Sarah. 

"You'd  best  get  over  your  surprise,  Miss 
Maltby,"  said  the  very  practical  housekeeper. 
**  You  should  have  your  eyes  opened.  You  should 
see  them  together  again." 

**Why  not?"  demanded  Aunt  Sarah,  suddenly. 

**Why  not  what?" 

**Let  the  children  have  Cecile  and  her  brother 
here  for  over  Sunday — for  a  week  end.  Let  them 
give  a  little  party.  I  am  sure  I  loved  parties 
when  I  was  a  young  girl  and  lived  at  this  Comer 
House,  when  mother  was  alive." 

*  *  It 's  a  good  idea, ' '  said  the  housekeeper.  "  I  '11 
make  some  layer  cakes  for  the  party.  We'll  not 
need  to  go  to  the  expense  of  a  caterer — " 

She  would  have  gone  on  immediately  planning 
for  the  affair  had  she  not,  on  glancing  through 
the  window,  seen  the  dog  catchers'  green  van 
rattling  over  the  crossing  of  Main  Street. 

** There's  those  dog  catchers!"  she  exclaimed. 
**I  wonder  if  Tom  Jonah's  safe.  There  are  some 
children  running  and  crying  after  it — they've 
lost  a  pet  I've  no  doubt." 

Then  suddenly  she  sprang  to  her  feet. 

**Miss  Maltby!"  she  cried.  **  'Tis  our  Tess 
and  Dot — and  Sammy  Pinkney,  the  little  scampi 
It  must  be  either  his  bulldog  or  old  Tom  Jonah 
those  pestilent  men  have  caught." 


236    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Aunt  Sarah  had  very  good  eyes  indeed.  She 
had  already  spied  the  party  and  she  could  see  in 
the  back  of  the  van. 

*'It  is  Tom  Jonah!"  she  exclaimed.  **They 
must  be  stopped.  How  dared  those  men  take  our 
dogV* 

Mrs.  MacCall,  who  had  no  shoes  on,  could  not 
hurry  out.  But  Aunt  Sarah  was  dressed  for  com- 
pany as  she  always  was  in  the  afternoon.  She 
amazed  the  sputtering  housekeeper  by  stopping 
only  to  throw  a  fleecy  hood  over  her  hair  before 
hurrying  out  of  the  front  door  of  the  Comer 
House. 

Aunt  Sarah  Maltby  seldom  left  the  premises 
save  for  church  on  Sunday.  She  did  not  even 
ride  much  in  the  girls '  motor-car.  She  had  made 
up  her  mind  that  an  automobile  was  an  unneces- 
sary luxury  and  a  "new-fangled  notion"  anyway; 
therefore  she  seldom  allowed  herself  to  be  coaxed 
into  the  car. 

She  never  went  calling,  claiming  vigorously 
that  she  was  *'no  gadabout,  she  hoped."  It  was 
an  astonishing  sight,  therefore,  to  see  her  march- 
ing along  Willow  Street  in  the  wake  of  the  crying, 
excited  children,  who  themselves  followed  in  the 
wake  of  the  dog  catchers'  van. 

The  van  traveled  so  fast  that  Tess  and  Dot  and 
Sammy  could  scarcely  keep  it  in  sight;  while  the 
children  were  so  far  ahead  of  Aunt  Sarah  that  the 
old  woman  could  not  attract  their  attention  when 
she  called. 


It  Engages  Aunt  Sarah's  Attention    237 

It  was  a  most  embarrassing  situation,  to  say  the 
least.  To  add  to  its  ridiculousness,  Mrs.  Mac- 
Call  met  Agnes  as  she  came  in  swinging  her  books, 
and  told  her  at  the  side  door  what  had  happened. 

Agnes  flung  down  her  books  and  "hoo-hooed" 
with  all  her  might  for  Neale  O'Neil.  As  soon  as 
he  answered,  sticking  his  head  out  of  his  little 
bedroom  window  under  the  eaves  of  Con 
Murphy's  cottage,  Agnes  left  the  housekeeper  and 
the  excited  Finnish  girl  to  explain  the  difficulty  to 
Neale,  while  she  ran  after  Aunt  Sarah. 

Soon,  therefore,  there  was  a  procession  of  ex- 
cited Corner  House  folk  trailing  through  the 
Milton  Streets  to  the  pound.  Sammy  and  the 
two  little  girls  trotting  on  behind  the  dog  catch- 
ers* van ;  then  Aunt  Sarah  Maltby,  looking  neither 
to  right  nor  left  but  appearing  very  stem  indeed ; 
then*  Agnes  running  as  hard  as  she  could  run; 
followed  by  Neale  at  a  steady  lope. 

The  boy  soon  overtook  his  girl  chum. 

"What  under  the  canopy  are  we  going  to  do?'* 
he  demanded. 

**Save  Tom  Jonah!"  declared  Agnes,  her 
cheeks  blazing. 

"The  kids  are  going  to  do  that,"  chuckled  Neale 
in  spite  of  his  shortness  of  breath.  "Guess  we'd 
better  save  Aunt  Sarah,  hadn't  wet" 

"Goodness,  Neale!'*  giggled  Agnes,  "they 
won't  try  to  shut  her  up  in  the  pound  I  should 
hope." 

They  did  not  overtake  the  determined  woman 


238    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

before  she  was  in  sight  of  the  dog  refuge.  The 
van  had  driven  into  the  yard.  Before  the  gate 
could  be  shut  Tess,  followed  closely  by  the 
trembling  Dot  and  by  the  more  or  less  valiant 
Sammy,  pushed  through  likewise  and  faced  the 
superintendent  of  the  lost  dog  department. 

*'What  do  you  little  folks  want?"  asked  this 
kindly  man,  smiling  down  upon  the  trio. 

**We  want  Tom  Jonah,"  said  Tess,  her  voiCD 
quivering  but  her  manner  still  brave. 

** You've  just  got  to  give  us  Tom  Jonah,"  Dot 
added,  gulping  down  a  sob. 

**You  bet  you  have!"  said  Sammy,  clenching 
his  fists. 

**  'Tom  Jonah'?"  repeated  the  man.  **Is  that 
a  dog?" 

Tess  pointed.  There  was  Tom  Jonah  at  the 
screened  door  of  the  van. 

''That's  him,"  she  said.  "He  never  did  any- 
body any  harm.    These  men  just  stole  him." 

That  was  pretty  strong  language  for  Tess  Ken- 
way  to  use;  but  she  was  greatly  overwrought. 

"You  mean  they  took  him  out  of  your  yard?" 

"They  took  him  off'n  the  street,"  said  Sammy. 
"But  he'd  only  jumped  the  fence  because  he  saw 
us  comin'  home  from  school." 

"He  isn't  muzzled,"  said  the  man. 

"He— he  don't  bite,"  wailed  Dot.  "He— he 
ain't  got  any  teeth  to  bite!" 

He  was  an  old  dog  as  the  superintendent  could 
see.    Besides,  he  knew  that  his  men  were  more 


It  Engages  Aunt  Sarah's  Attention    239 

eager  to  secure  the  fines  than  they  were  to  be  kind 
or  fair  to  the  owners  of  dogs. 

*'How  about  this,  Harry?"  he  asked  the  driver 
of  the  van. 

**The  dog's  ugly  as  sin,"  growled  the  man. 
«'Ain't  he,  Bill?" 

** Tried  to  chew  me  up,"  declared  the  man  with 
the  net. 

**Say!"  blurted  out  Sammy,  "wouldn't  you 
try  to  chew  a  feller  up  if  he  caught  you  in  a  fish- 
net and  dragged  you  to  a  wagon  like  that? 
Huh!" 

Harry  burst  out  laughing.  The  superintendent 
said,  quietly: 

"Let  the  big  dog  out." 

"Not  me.  Boss,"  said  Bill,  backing  away. 
"That  dog's  got  it  in  for  me." 

"Let  me!"  exclaimed  Tess.  "Tom  Jonah 
would  not  bite  any  of  us — not  even  if  he  had 
hydrophobia.    No,  sir!" 

"Of  course  he  wouldn't!"  acclaimed  Dot. 
"But  he  couldn't  have  hydro — hydro —  Well, 
whatever  that  is." 

"Keep  those  other  dogs  back,  Bill,  and  let  the 
little  girl  have  her  Tom  Jonah,"  said  the  superin- 
tendent. "I  guess  there's  been  a  mistake. 
These  are  the  Comer  House  girls,  and  that  is 
their  old  dog.  I  remember  him.  He  wouldn't 
harm  a  fly." 

"No.  But  he'd  chaw  the  leg  off'n  me.  Boss," 
said  Bill,  who  did  not  like  dogs  and  therefore 


240    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

was  afraid  of  them.  "Besides,  all's  fish  that 
comes  into  my  net,  you  know. ' ' 

**Go  away,"  commanded  the  other  man,  taking 
the  long  pole  himself.     "I  will  let  him  out." 

"Oh,  Tom  Jonah!"  cried  Tess,  running  to  the 
door  of  the  van.  "Be  good  now.  The  man  is 
going  to  let  you  out  and  we  will  take  you  home. ' ' 

The  old  dog  stopped  whining  but  he  did  not, 
as  Sammy  whispered  to  Dot,  look  any  too 
pleasant.  When  the  superintendent  opened  the 
door,  after  crowding  back  the  smaller  dogs  that 
filled  the  van,  Tess  called  to  Tom  Jonah  to  come 
out.  He  leaped  down.  The  next  instant  he 
whirled  and  would  have  charged  the  two  men  who 
had  caused  him  such  discomfort  and  disgrace,  his 
jaws  emitting  terrific  growls. 

"Stop,  Tom  Jonah!"  from  Tess  and  Dot,  and 
"Cut  it  out,  Tom  Jonah!"  from  Sammy,  were  all 
that  saved  the  day.  The  dog  had  never  yet  been 
cowed  of  spirit  and,  old  as  he  was,  he  would  have 
attacked  a  lion,  let  alone  a  pair  of  faint-hearted 
rowdies. 

"Take  my  advice,  boys,"  said  the  superintend- 
ent of  the  pound.  "Don't  go  around  that  block 
by  the  old  Comer  House  again.  This  old  fellow 
will  not  forget  either  of  you." 

"He  ought  to  be  shot,"  growled  Bill. 

"You  do  such  a  thing — such  a  desperately 
wicked  thing!"  exclaimed  a  sharp  voice,  "and  I 
will  see  that  you  are  prosecuted  to  the  full  extent 
of  the  law." 


It  Engages  Aunt  Sarah's  Attention    241 

It  was  Aunt  Sarah  who  appeared  like  an  angel 
of  wrath  at  the  gateway. 

*'Mr.  Howbridge  shall  know  about  your  actions 
— ^you  two  men  there!  And  as  for  you,"  the  in- 
dignant old  woman  added,  fixing  her  gaze  upon 
the  superintendent  of  the  pound,  **let  me  tell  you 
that  the  Stower  estate  makes  a  contribution 
yearly  to  your  Society,  which  contribution  partly 
pays  your  salary.  I  hold  yon  responsible  for  the 
character  of  the  men  you  engage  to  collect  the 
poor  dogs  who  are  neglected  and  who  have  no 
homes.  They  are  not  supposed  to  take  the  pets 
of  people  who  amply  care  for  dumb  animals. 
Another  occasion  like  this  and  you  will  hear  from 
it — ^mark  my  word,  sir!" 

**0h,  my!"  sighed  Dot,  afterward,  her  eyes 
still  round  with  wonder,  **I  never  did  suppose 
Aunt  Sarah  could  speak  so  big.  Isn't  she  just 
wonnerful?" 

While  the  children  were  caressing  Tom  Jonah 
and  the  superintendent  was  striving  to  pacify  the 
indignant  Aunt  Sarah,  Agnes  and  Neale  came 
panting  to  the  pound. 

"Guess  it's  all  over  but  the  shouting,"  said 
Neale,  with  satisfaction.  "Down,  Tom  Jonah! 
Down,  with  you  I  Don't  jump  all  over  my  best 
suit  of  clothes." 

"And  spare  me  your  kisses,  good  old  fellow!" 
begged  Agnes.  "We  know  just  how  glad  you  are 
to  get  out  of  jail.    Who  wouldn't  be!" 

"Je-ru-sa-Zem/"  ejaculated   Sammy  Pinkney; 


242    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

** who'd  ha'  thought  of  Tom  Jonah  getting 
pinched?" 

Before  the  party  got  away  from  the  pound, 
Kuth  came  racing  down  in  the  automobile.  Re- 
turning from  her  first  drive  alone  as  a  licensed 
chauffeur,  she  had  heard  of  the  family's  migra- 
tion to  the  pound  and  had  come  in  haste  to  the 
rescue  of  Tom  Jonah — and  the  remainder  of  the 
Corner  House  party. 

"For  goodness'  sake !  do  get  into  the  automobile 
and  act  as  though  we'd  just  come  for  a  ride,"  ex- 
claimed the  oldest  Comer  House  girl.  ' '  Did  ever 
any  one  hear  of  such  ridiculous  things  as  happen 
to  us?" 

**You  need  not  be  so  snippy,"  said  Agnes,  in 
some  heat.  "If  Tom  Jonah  had  actually  been  put 
into  that  awful  gas  chamber  they  tell  about — " 

"They  don't  do  such  things  until  it  is  positive 
that  nobody  will  claim  the  dog — unless  he  really  is 
afflicted  with  rabies,"  Ruth  said.  "I'm  surprised 
at  Aunt  Sarah." 

"You  needn't  be,  young  lady,"  said  Miss 
Maltby.  "You  needn't  be  surprised  at  anything 
I  may  do.  I  have  long  known  that  I  belonged  to 
a  family  of  crazy  people,  and  now  I  guess  I've 
proved  myself  as  crazy  as  any  of  you." 

However,  they  could  laugh  at  it  after  a  while. 
And  they  did  not  begrudge  any  trouble  to  save 
poor  old  Tom  Jonah  from  inconvenience.  While 
the  children  were  away  at  school  thereafter  they 


It  Engages  Aunt  Sarah's  Attention    243 

were  careful  to  put  the  old  dog  on  a  long  leash 
in  a  shady  comer  of  the  yard. 

After  all,  Tom  Jonah  had  been  a  vagabond  for 
a  good  part  of  his  life,  and  old  as  he  was  some- 
times the  spirit  of  what  Agnes  called  **the 
wanderlust"  (she  was  just  beginning  German) 
came  over  him  and  he  would  go  away  to  visit 
friends  for  two  or  three  days  at  a  time. 

"He'll  go  visiting  no  more  at  present,*'  Ruth 
said  with  decision. 

However,  other  plans  for  visiting  progressed. 
Aunt  Sarah  and  Mrs.  MacCall  proceeded  to  carry 
out  their  conspiracy.  The  suggestion  was  made 
at  just  the  right  time,  and  in  the  right  way,  for 
Cecile  and  Luke  to  be  invited  to  the  old  Comer 
House  for  a  week-end  party,  and  the  party  itself 
was  planned. 

So  it  came  to  pass  that  CecUe  Shepard  wrote 
her  brother  Luke  that  very  next  week : 

**I  suppose,  Luke  dear,  you  have  received  your 
invitation  to  Ruth's  party.  Of  course,  dear  boy, 
we  must  both  go.  I  would  not  disappoint  or  of- 
fend her  for  the  world — ^nor  must  you.  Buck  up, 
old  pal!  This  is  a  hard  row  to  hoe,  but  I  guess 
you'll  have  to  hoe  it  alone.  I  can  only  sit  on  the 
fence  and  root  for  you. 

"Aunt  Lorena  declares  the  world  is  coming  to 
an  end.  Neighbor  sent  Samri  over  to  the  house 
to  ask  Auntie  what  Ruth's  last  name  was  and 


244    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

how  to  find  her.  He  was  so  mad  with  you  that 
night  you  told  him,  he  evidently  did  not  catch  her 
name.  And  then,  Aunt  Lorena  says,  the  very 
next  morning  Neighbor  started  out  and  was  gone 
all  day. 

**He  could  not  have  gone  to  see  Euth.  Of 
course  not !  Certain  sure  if  he  had,  I  should  have 
heard  of  it  from  either  Kuth  herself  or  from 
Agnes.  But  he  might  have  gone  to  Milton  to 
make  inquiries  about  her. 

**  However,  I  am  afraid  whatever  he  did  that 
day  he  was  away,  it  did  not  please  him.  He  re- 
turned about  dark,  blew  up  Samri  in  the  yard 
for  some  Uttle  thing,  rampaged  around  in  his 
most  awful  way,  and  finally.  Aunt  Lorena  says, 
she  could  hear  him  scolding  the  butler  all  through 
dinner  and  half  the  evening.  Then,  she  believes, 
the  poor  old  Jap  crept  into  the  toolshcd  to  spend 
the  rest  of  the  night  out  of  sound  of  his  master  *s 
voice." 

Luke  would  certainly  not  have  gone  to  Milton 
and  to  the  Comer  House  at  this  time  save  that  he, 
like  his  sister,  could  not  offend  those  who  had  been 
so  kind  to  him  there.  And  he  was  hungry  for  a 
sight  of  Ruth! 

Seeing  her,  he  feared,  would  not  aid  him  to  be 
manly  and  put  his  desires  aside  while  he  fought 
his  way  through  college.  He  knew  that  Neighbor 
would  do  exactly  what  he  had  said.  Never  could 
he  look  to  the  old  gentleman  for  a  friendly  word, 


It  Engages  Aunt  Sarah's  Attention    245 

or  a  bit  of  help  over  a  hard  financial  place  again. 
As  Mr.  Henry  Northrup  was  so  fond  of  saying, 
he  always  said  what  he  meant  and  meant  what  he 
said! 

The  party  was  to  be  on  Saturday  evening,  and 
the  Friday  when  the  Shepards  had  promised  to 
arrive  at  the  Comer  House  came,  and  Luke  and 
Cecile  went  their  separate  ways  to  Milton  by 
train.  As  he  had  not  sent  word  by  just  what 
train  he  would  arrive  the  young  man  did  not 
expect  anybody  to  meet  him.  He  walked  up  from 
the  station  with  his  suitcase  and  came  in  sight  of 
the  old  Comer  House  without  being  spied  by  any- 
body on  the  premises. 

A  wintry  wind  was  blowing,  and  the  great  shade 
trees  about  the  house  were  almost  bare  of  leaves. 
Yet  the  Stower  homestead  could  never  look  any- 
thing but  cheerful  and  homelike.  Luke  quickened 
his  pace  as  he  approached  the  gate.  There  was 
somebody  inside  that  old  house,  he  was  quite  sure, 
whom  he  longed  desperately  to  see. 

He  opened  the  gate  and  swung  up  the  walk  to 
the  door.  Bounding  up  the  steps  he  reached  forth 
his  hand  to  touch  the  annunciator  button  when  he 
caught  sight  of  something  standing  on  the  porch 
beside  the  door — something  that  brought  a  gasp 
of  amazement  from  his  lips  and  actually  caused 
him  to  turn  pale. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

LOOKING  AHEAD 

Ruth  had  become  quite  excited  over  the 
prospect  of  the  coming  party.  Of  course,  not  as 
excited  as  Agnes,  but  sufficiently  so  to  become 
more  like  her  oldtime  self. 

She  went  about  with  a  smile  on  her  lips  and 
a  gleam  in  her  eyes  that  had  been  missing  of  late. 
Agnes  hinted  that  she  must  have  some  particular 
reason  for  being  so  "chipper." 

''Somebody's  coming  you  like,  Ruthie  Ken- 
way!"  the  next  oldest  sister  declared. 

For  once  Ruth  did  not  deny  the  accusation. 
She  merely  blushed  faintly  and  said  nothing. 

Friday  afternoon  was  a  particularly  busy  time 
for  Ruth.  She  found  some  things  had  been  for- 
gotten and  she  went  down  town  to  attend  to  them. 
She  walked,  and  in  coming  back,  hastening  up 
Main  Street,  at  the  corner  of  the  avenue  that  gave 
a  glimpse  of  the  railroad  station,  she  came  face 
to  face  with  the  queer  old  gentleman  of  the  green 
umbrella ! 

"Ha!"  ejaculated  the  old  man,  stopping 
abruptly.    "  So !  I  find  you  at  last,  do  I  r ' 

"Ye-yes,  sir,"  stammered  Ruth. 

To  tell  the  truth,  he  looked  so  fierce,  he  had 

2-16 


Looking  Ahead  247 

such  a  hawklike  eye,  and  he  spoke  so  harshly  that 
he  fairly  frightened  the  oldest  Comer  House  giri. 
She  felt  as  though  he  must  think  she  had  been 
hiding  from  him  purposely. 

**I  was  in  your  town  here  once  before  looking 
for  you.    You  were  not  to  be  found,"  he  said. 

"Ye-yes,  sir,"  admitted  Euth.  **I  guess  I  was 
out  that  day." 

"Out?  I  didn't  know  where  to  hunt  for  you," 
growled  the  old  man,  shaking  the  green  umbrella 
and  looking  as  fierce,  Euth  thought,  as  though  he 
might  like  to  shake  her  in  the  same  way. 

**Ye-yes,  sir,"  she  stammered. 

** Don't  say  that  again!"  roared  the  stranger. 
**  Speak  sensibly.  Or  are  you  as  big  a  fool  as 
most  other  females!" 

At  that  Euth  grew  rather  piqued.  She  re- 
gained her  self-possession  and  began  to  study  the 
old  man. 

"I'm  not  sure  how  foolish  you  consider  all 
women  to  be,  sir,"  she  said.  "Perhaps  I  am 
merely  an  average  girl." 

"No.  I'll  be  bound  you've  more  sense  than 
some,"  he  grumbled.  "Otherwise  you  wouldn't 
have  pulled  me  back  from  that  train.  I'd  have 
been  run  over  like  enough." 

"I'm  glad  you  think  I  helped  you,"  said  Euth 
simply. 

"Heh?    What  are  you  glad  for?" 

"Because  I  like  to  have  people  feel  grateful  to 
me  and  like  me,"  confessed  Euth  frankly. 


248     The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  tip 

"Hey-day!'*  exclaimed  the  old  gentleman. 
** Here's  plainness  of  speech.  I  suppose  you 
think  I  am  rich  and  that  I  have  come  to  reward 
you?" 

**I  thought  you  had  come  to  thank  me,  not  in- 
sult me,"  the  girl  said,  with  dignity.  "You  can- 
not give  me  money. ' ' 

"You  are  a  wealthy  girl,  then?" 

"We  have  all  the  money  we  shall  ever  need," 
said  Ruth.  "It  really  does  not  matter,  does  it, 
sir?  If  you  have  thanked  me  sufficiently,  I  will 
go  on.'* 

"Hoity-toity!"  he  snarled.  "You  are  one  of 
these  very  smart  modem  girls,  I  see.  And 
wealthy,  too?    Where  do  you  live?" 

"I  am  going  home  now,  sir.  You  know  where 
I  live,"  said  Ruth  in  surprise. 

"Heh?  I'll  go  with  you.  I  want  to  talk  with 
your  folks." 

"I  really  do  not  understand  your  object.  I 
have  no  parents,  sir,"  said  Ruth,  a  little  angry 
by  this  time.    "If  you  wish  to  see  our  lawyer — " 

"Haven't  you  anybody?" 

"I  have  sisters  and  an  aunt  and  a  guardian — 
our  lawyer,"  said  Ruth  not  at  all  pleased  to  be 
obliged  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  the  old  man 
with  the  green  umbrella. 

He  walked  on  beside  her  and  there  really  seemed 
no  way  to  escape  him.  She  thought  it  strange 
that  he  cared  to  come  to  the  house  again,  having 


Looking  Ahead  249 

already  been  there  once  and  interviewed  Mrs. 
MacCall. 

When  they  came  in  sight  of  the  old  Comer 
House  Ruth  heard  the  old  gentleman  utter  an 
exclamation  as  though  he  recognized  it.  Then, 
when  she  stopped  at  the  gate  he  demanded: 

"So  you  live  here!'* 

**0f  course  I  do,"  Ruth  replied  rather  sharply 
for  her. 

She  opened  the  gate  and  passed  through.  She 
did  not  ask  him  to  enter;  but  he  came  in  just  the 
same,  green  umbrella  and  all.  He  walked  beside 
her  up  the  path  and  up  the  steps  to  the  door. 
Then  as  she  turned  to  face  him  he  grumbled : 

**So  I  suppose  you're  going  to  tell  me  that  you 
are  Ruth  Kenway?" 

**That  is  my  name,  sir." 

"Humph!  So,  the  boy  has  got  some  sense,  af- 
ter all,"  muttered  the  old  man. 

Ruth  suddenly  felt  that  there  was  a  deep  mean- 
ing in  the  old  man's  look  and  a  reason  for  his 
curiosity.    She  asked  faintly: 

"What  boy,  sir?    Whom  do  you  meant'* 

"That  whippersnapper.  Lake  Shepard." 

"Oh!"  Ruth  exclaimed.    ''You  are  Neighbor!*' 

So  that  is  why  Luke,  coming  half  an  hour  later 
to  this  very  front  door,  spied  the  green  umbrella 
and  Mr.  Henry  Northrup  's  great  overshoes  stand- 
ing together  on  the  porch  of  the  old  Corner 
House. 


250    The  Comer  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

Luke  did  not  know  at  first  whether  it  would 
he  best  to  ring  the  bell  or  to  run.  He  wavered 
for  several  minutes,  undecided.  Then  suddenly 
Neale  O'Neil,  rounding  the  comer  of  the  house, 
caught  sight  of  him. 

*'HuIlo!"  shouted  the  ex-circus  boy.  **Lost, 
strayed,  or  stolen?  The  girls  have  been  looking 
for  you.    Your  sister  is  here  already." 

**ShI"  whispered  Luke,  beckoning  frantically. 
** Somebody  else  is  here,  too." 

"Crickey,  yes!  You  know  the  old  chap? 
Northrup^s  his  name.  He  looks  as  hard  as  nails, 
but  our  Ruth's  got  him  feeding  out  of  her  hand 
already.    Oh,  Ruth  is  some  charmer!" 

Luke  fairly  fell  up  against  Neale. 

"Charmed  Neighbor?"  he  gasped.  **Then 
Aunt  Lorena's  right!  The  world  is  coming  to 
an  end." 

Of  course,  it  did  not!  At  least,  not  just  then. 
But  when  Luke  presented  himself  in  the  sitting- 
room  of  the  old  Corner  House  and  found  Mr. 
Northrup  and  Ruth  in  quiet  conversation,  the 
young  man  felt  that  he  must  be  walking  in  a  dream. 

"You  here,  Neighbor?"  he  said,  rather  shak- 
ingly. 

"Why,  yes,"  said  Mr.  Northrup  calmly.  "You 
see,  Miss  Ruth  is  rather  a  friend  of  mine.  Ahem ! 
At  least,  she  did  me  a  favor  some  time  ago,  and 
in  hunting  her  up  to  thank  her,  I  find  that  she  is 
a  very  dear  friend  of  your  sister  and  yourself, 
Luke.'' 


Looking  Ahead  251 

*'Er — ^yes?^*  questioned  Luke,  stUl  a  little  trem- 
ulous in  his  speech. 

*'Ahem!'*  said  Mr.  Northrup  again,  staring 
hard  at  the  young  man.  *  *  Your  friend  Miss  Ruth 
has  invited  me  to  remain  to  dinner  and  meet  her 
sisters  and — ahem! — the  rest  of  her  family.  I 
hope  you  have  no  objection,  Luke?"  with  sar- 
casm. 

**0h,  no,  Neighbor!  Oh,  no,  indeed !'*  Luke 
hastened  to  say. 

To  the  amazement  of  Luke  and  Cecile  Shepard 
Mr.  Northrup  appeared  very  well  indeed  at  din- 
ner that  night  in  the  Comer  House.  They  learned 
he  could  be  very  entertaining  if  he  wished;  that 
he  had  not  forgotten  how  to  interest  women  if  he 
had  been  a  recluse  for  so  long;  and  that  even  Tess 
and  Dot  found  something  about  him  to  admire. 
The  former  said  afterward  that  Mr.  Northrup 
had  a  voice  like  a  distant  drum ;  Dot  said  he  had 
a  "noble  looking  forehead,"  meaning  that  it  was 
very  high  and  bald. 

Mr.  Northrup  and  Aunt  Sarah  were  wonder- 
fully polite  to  each  othe'r.  Mrs.  MacCall  had  her 
suspicions  of  the  old  gentleman,  remembering  the 
umbrella  and  the  occasion  of  his  first  call  when, 
she  considered,  he  had  entered  the  house  under 
false  pretenses. 

Luke  went  to  the  evening  train  with  his  old 
friend,  and  Mr.  Northrup 's  mellowed  spirit  re- 
mained with  him — for  the  time  at  least. 

**She  is  a  smart  girl,  Luke.    I  always  thought 


252    The  Corner  House  Girls  Growing  Up 

you  had  a  Httle  good  sense  in  your  makeup,  and 
I  believe  you've  proved  it.  But  remember,  boy," 
added  the  man,  shaking  an  admonitory  finger  at 
him,  "remember,  you're  to  stick  to  your  fancy. 
No  changing  around  from  one  girl  to  another. 
If  you  dare  to  I'll  disown  you — I'll  disown  you 
just  as  I  said  I  should  if  you  hadn't  picked  out  the 
girl  you  have." 

"Good  gracious.  Neighbor!"  gasped  the  young 
man,  "I — I  don't  even  know  if  Ruth  will  have 
me." 

"Huh!  You  don't?  Well,  young  man,"  said 
the  old  gentleman  in  disgust  at  Luke's  dilator- 
iness,  "I  do!" 

Perhaps  Mr.  Henry  Northrup's  very  positive- 
ness  upon  this  point  spurred  Luke  to  find  an 
opportunity  during  this  week-end  visit  to  the 
old  Comer  House  to  open  his  heart  to  Ruth.  In 
return  the  girl  was  frank  enough  to  tell  him  just 
how  glad  she  was  that  he  had  acted  as  he  had 
before  knowing  that  Neighbor  would  approve. 

"For  of  course,  Luke,  money  doesn't  have  to 
enter  the  question  at  all.  Nevertheless,  I  know 
you  will  desire  to  be  established  in  some  business 
before  we  are  really  serious  about  this  thing. ' ' 

"Serious,  Ruth!"  exclaimed  the  young  man. 
"Well — I  don't  know.  Seems  to  me  I've  never 
been  really  serious  about  anything  in  my  life 
before." 

Though  she  spoke  so  very  cautiously  about  their 
understanding,  Ruth  Kenway  sent  Luke  back  to 


Looking  Ahead  253 

college  Sunday  evening  knowing  that  she  coin- 
cided with  his  plans  and  hopes  perfectly. 

The  party  on  Saturday  night — the  first  of  sev- 
eral evening  entertainments  the  girls  gave  that 
winter — was  a  very  delightful  gathering.  The 
visitors  from  out  of  town  enjoyed  themselves 
particularly  because  the  bugbear  of  Neighbor's 
opposition  to  Luke's  desires  had  been  dissipated. 

"Lucky  boy,  Luke,"  his  sister  told  him.  **And 
you  may  thank  Ruthie  Kenway  for  your  happiness 
in  more  senses  than  one.  It  was  she  who  charmed 
your  crochety  old  friend.  No  other  girl  could 
have  done  it." 

"Don't  you  suppose  I  know  that?"  he  asked 
her,  with  scorn. 

That  party,  of  course,  was  enjoyable  for  the 
smaller  Comer  House  girls  as  well  as  for  their 
elders.  There  was  nothing  really  good  that  Tess 
and  Dot  ever  missed  if  Ruth  and  Agnes  had  it 
in  their  power  to  please  their  smaller  sisters. 

"It's  most  as  good  as  having  a  party  of  our 
very  own,"  sighed  Tess,  as  she  and  Dot  and  Sam- 
my Pinkney  sat  at  the  head  of  the  front  stairs 
with  plates  of  ice  cream  and  cake  in  their  small 
laps. 

"It's  better,"  declared  Dot.  "  'Cause  we  can 
just  eat  and  eat  and  not  have  to  worry  whether 
the  others  are  getting  enough." 

"Why,  Dot  Kenway  I"  murmured  Tess. 
"That  sounds  awful — awful  piggish." 

"Nop,"    said    Sammy.    "She's    right,    Teas. 


254    The  Corner  House  Girls  Gro\^ing  Up 

You  see,  Dot  means  that  she  really  can  have  a 
better  tune  if  there  isn't  anything  to  worry 
about.  Now,  there  was  that  day  we  went  off  and 
took  a  ride  on  that  canalboat." 

*' Being  pirates,"  put  in  Dot,  with  a  reminiscent 
sigh. 

'*Yep,''  went  on  the  philosophic  Sammy. 
"We'd  have  had  an  awful  nice  day  if  there 'd 
been  nothing  to  worry  us.    Wouldn't  we.  Dot?" 

"I — I  guess  so,"  agreed  the  smallest  Corner 
House  girl  slowly.  ''But  just  the  same,  Sammy 
Pinkney,  I'm  never  going  to  run  off  to  be  pirates 
with  you  again.  Ruthie  says  it  isn't  ladylike," 
she  finished  with  an  air  of  "be  it  ever  so  painful, 
ladylike  I  must  be." 

"Humph!"  sniffed  Sammy,  "you  won't  get  an- 
other chance.  I  ain't  going  to  take  any  girl 
pirating  when  I  go  again.  I  don't  want  girls  on  a 
pirate  ship." 

"Oh,  Sammy!"  said  Dot,  "you  sound  just  like 
that  Mr.  Nei^bor  Northrup.  You  know,  Mr. 
Luke's  friend.    The  misogynist." 

"Huh!"  grunted  Sammy,  scowling. 

"But — but,"  Tess  questioned  softly,  "Mr. 
Northrup 's  cured  of  that  disease,  isn't  he?" 


THE  END 


CHARMING  STORIES  FOR  GIRLS 

The  Comer  House  Girls  Series 


By  GRACE  BROOKS  HILL 


5??c  CORNER 
HOUSE  GIRLS 


GBACB  BKOOKS  HILK 


Four  girls  from  eight  to  fourteen 
years  of  age  receive  word  that  a  rich 
bachelor  uncle  has  died,  leaving 
them  the  old  Corner  House  he  occu- 
pied. They  move  into  it  and  then 
the  fun  begins.  What  they  find  and 
do  will  provoke  many  a  hearty 
laugh.  Later,  they  enter  school  and 
make  many  friends.  One  of  these  in- 
vites the  girls  to  spend  a  few  weeks 
at  a  bungalow  owned  by  her  parents, 
and  the  adventures  they  meet  with 
make  very  interesting  reading. 
Clean,  wholesome  stories  of  humor 
and  adventure,  sure  to  appeal  to  all 
young  girls. 


X  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS. 

a  CORNEIR  HOUSE  GIRLS  AT  SCHOOL. 

3  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  UNDER  CANVAS. 

4  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  IN  A  PLAY. 

5  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS'  ODD  FIND. 

6  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  ON  A  TOUR. 

7  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  GROWING  UP. 

8  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  SNOWBOUND. 

9  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  ON  A  HOUSEBOAT. 

10  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  AMONG  THE  GYPSIES. 

11  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  ON  PALM  ISLAND, 
la  THE  CORNER  HOUSE  GIRLS  SOLVE  A 

MYSTERY. 


BARSE  &  HOPKINS 


New  York.  N.  Y. 


Newark,  N.  J. 


"THE  POLLY'*  SERIES 


By  DOROTHY  WHITEHILL 


k 


KJl 


POLLY'S 

FIRST  YEAR  AT 
BOARDING  SCHOOL 


DOROTHY  WHITEHILL 


Polly  Pendleton  is  a  resource- 
ful, wide-awake  American  girl 
who  goes  to  a  boarding  school 
on  the  Hudson  River  some  miles 
above  New  York.  By  her  pluck 
and  resourcefulness,  she  soon 
makes  a  place  for  herself  and 
this  she  holds  right  through  the 
course.  The  account  of  boarding 
school  life  is  faithful  and  pleas* 
ing  and  will  attract  every  girl  in 
her  teens. 


Cloth,  large  12  mo.    Illustrated 

POLLY'S  FIRST  YEAR  AT  BOARDING  SCHOOL 

POLLYS  SUMMER  VACATION 

POLLY'S  SENIOR  YEAR  AT  BOARDING  SCHOOL 

POLLY  SEES  THE  WORLD  AT  WAR 

POLLY  AND  LOIS 

POLLY  AND  BOB 

POLLY'S  RE-UNION 


New  York.  N.  Y- 


BARSE  &.  HOPKINS 
Publishers 


Newark.  N.  J. 


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